Stress and Mental Health

Stress in the workplace

We all experience stress at work. It might be good stress – the type that gets us excited about what we’re doing and impels us to work harder. Or it might be negative stress – the type that keeps us awake at night and leads to frustration with our work. Either way, stress is a major workplace issue. Too much stress is harmful and is one of the main contributors to mental illness at work.

50% of Canadians find their workplace to be a major source of stress. Increasing productivity demands and rapidly developing technology contribute to a faster pace of work, leading to a ‘work harder, work faster’ corporate mentality.

Mental health: A workplace issue

It's estimated that 1 in 5 Canadians will be affected by a mental illness at some time in their lives. Mental illness knows no boundaries – it crosses every gender, social and economic, cultural, and education sector. As many Canadians suffer from major depression as from other leading chronic conditions, including heart disease.

Depression usually affects people during their working years. Workplaces carry more than 55% of the costs of depression. The cost of which is estimated to be over $12 billion annually. Some studies suggest that about 16 days per year are lost in productivity per person due to stress, anxiety and depression.

Only 1 in every 3 people who have depression will ask for appropriate help. for this reason, providing a workplace health program that supports mental health is very important.

What makes a difference?

In 1998, Health Canada did a survey of 50,000 workers and found that the following factors are linked to excellent self-reported health:

  • Being in control of their own health
  • Having influence over their work
  • Having at least 1 person they can depend on.
Ideas
To support a healthy work environment, organizations can:
  • Make an employee assistance program (EAP) accessible to all staff
  • Help people balance work and home life by creating flexible policies and allowing flexibility in the scheduling of work, where possible
  • Make sure staff have job descriptions with clearly defined roles and responsibilities
  • Make on-the-job training, supervision and staff support a priority
  • Focus on clear and timely communication, especially during periods of change
  • Increase staff participation in decision-making
  • Provide regular performance appraisals
  • Ensure that everyone has good working conditions, such as adequate space with comfortable heating/cooling and proper ventilation
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