May 16th, 2011
Mental Health Charity, MIND has competed a survey of 2000 workers regarding mental health issues in the workplace.
MIND’s study found that 1 in 5 people are frightened of losing their jobs if they admit to suffering from stress and 22% of people who had admitted to a mental health issue were fired or forced out of their jobs on disclosing mental health issues to employers.
The research into mental health found:
- 41% of workers are currently stressed / very stressed in their jobs
- Work causes more stress than money worries, marriage, relationship or health issues
- 2 out of 3 workers have been put under more pressure since the issues with the economy
- 1/3 are stressed because of a reduction in budgets
- 70% thought their boss wouldn’t help if they said they were stressed or had mental health issues.
- 1/4 thought they would be seen as less capable if they admitted to stress.
- 22% of those who admitted to having problems say that they were sacked or forced out of their jobs.
“Because it is seen as almost an invisible illness, it can be difficult for others to relate to what might be going on. ‘pull yourself together’ is one of the worse things that you can say to someone who has a mental health problem,” says Vicki Nash of Mind. “What people with mental health problems really need is the support and encouragement of staff to be able to create an open environment so they can talk about the problems that they are facing.”
Mental health issues, such as depression and stress could be covered under your health insurance policy as outpatient or inpatient cover for psychological therapies. Check your policy to see if you are covered.
Tags: mental health
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June 24th, 2010
Psychological therapies, such as treatment for common mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, will continue to be a committment by the new government who will put in an additional £70 million over the coming year. This funding confirmation from Health Secretary Andrew Lansley ensures that these mental health services can continue this year and that they can be expanded in 2011.
Lansley discussed “…greater access to talking therapies..” for people with mental health issues to speed recovery. Quoting the statistic that 1 in 6 people will suffer from depression at some time in their lives, he stated that the government wanted to offer “long term solutions” such as psychological therapies to those with these common mental health conditions.
Reducing waiting times and increasing the number of trained therapists will be core to these services. By 2011 there will be in excess of 3600 therapists and services up and running in every part of the country, according to Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow.
The IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies), part of the NHS programme to support Primary Care Trusts in implementing NICE guidelines for people suffering from depression and anxiety, welcomes this news.
Tags: freedom healthnet, NHS, Psychological Therapies
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June 7th, 2010
The recession has not only had an effect on the public’s pay packets, but on their health as well. According to some of the latest research carried out by the charity, Mind, one in ten workers has sought help from a doctor for mental health problems since the beginning of the credit crunch. Another 7 percent of the 2050 people who took part in the survey said they had to start taking anti-depressants for stress and mental health problems “directly caused by the pressures of recession on their workplace.” While employers have found it difficult to keep staffing levels at the same as they were before the recession, putting extra pressure on workers, an investment in a corporate private medical insurance policy may help to improve their general wellbeing.
The recession has put pressure on almost every work place, with some workers facing redundancy and the ones that remain often having to take on more roles to cover those who have left and having to fight to keep their jobs. A third of people said staff were competing against each other, and over a quarter said they were working longer hours which can inevitably lead to higher stress levels. Half of workers in the research said that staff morale was low but by taking out corporate medical insurance, employers can help this. Not only that, but staff may feel more loyal to a company if they believe they are appreciated and it can even attract a higher calibre of staff in the first place.
Tags: health news, psychological health
Posted in Psychological Therapies, health news | No Comments »
