Recent findings have shown there has been an increase of 80% in mental health claims. The same study has shown that 80% of employees in Australia want their employers to address mental health in the workplace.

Data has shown that work-related harassment and work pressure are the most common causes of psychological claims. Employees have reported that the most common workplace behaviours that negatively influenced their mental health are:

• Ineffective or unfair management (39% of employees impacted).
• Workplace culture (33% of employees impacted).
• Bullying and harassment (24% of employees impacted).
• Organisational structure (24% of employees impacted).

Stigma still appears to be a key hurdle to addressing mental ill health in the workplace, with 38% of people feeling that mental health issues will not be taken as seriously as physical illnesses.

Mentally healthy workplaces are created by leadership driven empathy! Working collaboratively between employers and employees to develop the right attitudes, resources and initiatives will go a long way to proactively addressing any issues.

Ultimately, more dialogue is needed in the workplace. Awareness days can be a means of starting conversations and advocate to destigmatise mental ill health. A lot of more businesses are taking this step and participating in these events.

You can read more at: https://www.hospitalhealth.com.au/content/aged-allied-health/article/the-rising-cost-of-workplace-mental-health-injuries