Klecany (near Prague) – According to scientists, the mental health problems of employees cost the economy of the European Union 170 billion euros per year, which is roughly 4.3 trillion crowns. One of the main reasons is work stress and overload. Stress contributes to about half of all missed days at work. Research by European institutions shows that companies do not deal with mental health sufficiently, so it is important to focus on prevention and support, Jan Červenka, spokesman for the National Institute of Mental Health (NUDZ), informed ČTK in a press release. Mental health in the workplace is the theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day, which falls on Thursday, October 10.
According to researchers, 60 percent of the world’s population is working, and up to 15 percent of working-age adults have some form of mental illness. “At the same time, work stress is one of the key risk factors for mental health. In 2022, 27 percent of workers in the European Union suffered from stress, depression and anxiety,” said Tomáš Jelínek, clinical psychologist and methodologist in the Public Mental Health research program of NUDZ. Mental health also affects the economy, as its deterioration results in lower productivity and absenteeism.
According to NUDZ Director Peter Winkler, although there are examples of good practice and policy in this area, as well as relatively reliable evidence of the effectiveness and economic benefits of programs to support mental health at work, employers in the Czech Republic and Europe generally do not have prevention programs. In some cases, when they are already aware of the problems, for example due to suicide in the workplace, low work productivity or high levels of burnout in top management, they start reaching for short-cut solutions that do not help. “This often happens under the influence of the ‘wellbeing industry’, which offers or even imposes simple, but expensive and dysfunctional solutions. National or international certification of employers supporting mental health would help, which would clearly distinguish quality programs,” added Winkler.
For example, a website deals with mental health opatruj.seoperated by NUDZ. In addition to tests, visitors will also find tips on how to get rid of stress from work. “At the same time, it is important to do work that is meaningful and fulfilling for a person. Such work is more fun for a person and he is motivated to achieve better results. The work atmosphere is also essential: colleagues with whom you fit in, so to speak, inspiring leadership and alignment of your values with those which promotes the company you work for,” added Jelínek.
This year, NUDZ is preparing to launch the project HARMONY (Healthy And Resilient Mindset with Organized, Nurturing digital tools for Your mental health), in which a consortium of institutions from eight European countries participates. It is intended to help improve knowledge and skills in the prevention and promotion of mental health in the workplace. “This should be helped by cooperation between universities, vocational education and qualification providers, research institutions, occupational health and safety experts, service providers and other actors on the labor market,” explained Jelínek. The project focuses on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, and a tool using artificial intelligence is to be created to help prevent the onset of mental problems or their worsening.
Since last year, the project Prevention and support of mental health of the adult population in the Czech Republic has been launched at NUDZ. Its aim is to provide organizations with guidance on how to map the situation in the area of mental health, well-being and employee satisfaction and offer them possible solutions in the prevention of stress, burnout and in providing first aid for the most common mental problems such as depression, anxiety, but also alcohol abuse . “An integral part of such programs is the education of managers to improve their attitudes in the area of open communication and destigmatization of the topic of mental health in the workplace,” said NUDZ coordinator of professional activities Slavomíra Pukanová.
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Source: www.ceskenoviny.cz
