Depression and anxiety cause 12 billion lost work days and $1 trillion a year
Depression and anxiety cause 12 billion lost work days each year, costing the global economy nearly $1 trillion, according to two new publications released Tuesday by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization.
In response, both UN agencies have called for concrete action to address mental health problems in the workplace.
The World Health Organisation's global guidelines recommend a series of measures to address mental health risks, such as heavy workloads, negative behaviours and other factors that create distress at work.
For the first time, the health agency recommends training managers to learn how to avoid stressful work environments and care for workers who feel distressed.
A recent Global Mental Health Report revealed that of the one billion people living with a mental disorder in 2019, 15% of working-age adults experienced such symptoms. Work exacerbates larger societal issues that negatively affect mental health, such as discrimination and inequality.
Bullying and psychological violence, also known as mobbing, is one of the main causes of harassment at work that has a negative impact on mental health. However, talking about or disclosing mental health problems is still taboo in workplaces around the world.
The guidance also recommends better ways to address the needs of workers with mental health problems, proposes actions to support their return to work and, in the case of severe symptoms, offers measures to facilitate entry into paid employment.
"It is time to pay attention to the detrimental effects that work can have on our mental health," said the director general of the World Health Organisation.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that "an individual's well-being is reason enough to act, but poor mental health can also have a debilitating effect on a person's performance and productivity. These new guidelines can help prevent negative work situations and cultures, and provide much-needed mental health protection and support for workers".
The second jointly developed document explains the World Health Organization's guidelines through concrete strategies for governments, employers and workers, and their organisations, in the public and private sectors.
It aims to support the prevention of mental health risks, their protection and improvement at work, and to support the participation and development of people suffering from these symptoms in the workplace. Investment and leadership will be key to the implementation of these strategies, it says.
"Given that people spend so much of their lives at work, a safe and healthy working environment is essential. We need to invest in building a culture of prevention for mental health at work, reform the work environment to break down stigma and social exclusion, and ensure that employees with mental health problems feel protected and supported," said International Labour Organization Director-General Guy Ryder.
As an example, COVID-19 led to a 25% increase in cases of anxiety and depression worldwide, a fact that showed the lack of preparedness of governments to deal with the mental health impact of the disease and also revealed the chronic shortage of resources to combat it globally.
Throughout 2020, governments around the world spent an average of only 2% of health budgets on mental health, with lower-middle-income countries investing less than 1%.
The ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No. 155) and Recommendation (No. 164) provide a legal framework to protect workers' health and safety. However, the WHO Mental Health Atlas found that only 35% of countries reported having national programmes for the promotion and prevention of work-related mental health.
