Working Together > Business & Government
Mental Health in the Workplace
Mental illness is endemic in the workplace and costs Australian businesses and the economy about $20 billion a year in lost productivity and labour force participation. Here are some more sobering facts:
- Those with untreated depression in the workplace work at only 40% of their productivity capacity
- The cost to individual businesses of carrying a person with undiagnosed mental illness in the workplace – $10,000 per annum per person
- Employees with untreated depression take 3-4 days off work a month – that works out to about 6 million Australian work days lost a year
- Staff with mental illness take more time off work; report more work limitations; and report poorer quality of life.
- Mental illness is the largest contributor to disability in Australia
1 in 5 adult Australians in any one year will have a mental illness. That means if you have a staff of 200 there will likely be 40 people on your team this year battling a mental health condition such as depression, anxiety, or substance use disorder. Before your workers can be effectively helped by an Employer Assistance Program they need to recognise that they may have a mental health issue. Often people with a mental illness don’t know that they have an illness – they need help and guidance by friends and work colleagues who are mental health literate.
Mental Health First Aid training could help save your business/government department $10,000s annually by:
- improving the mental health literacy of your staff
- adding to the quality of life of your team, and
- increasing the productivity of your workplace (perhaps by 60% for some workers)
Training your staff in Mental Health First Aid can potentially save your company thousands of $ in unwanted stress compensation claims. Early intervention is the key to a healthy, happy and productive workplace.
Enquire about MindSavers‘ FREE 1 hr “Stress in the Workplace: It Just Doesn’t Work” seminar for your workplace.
