The Unspoken Issue of Mental Illness
Stigma often keeps people from talking about mental health problems to friends or family, and many are even more reluctant to reveal such problems to their employers. That's why mental illness remains a shadow issue in many workplaces, and employers may not realize how common such conditions are or how seriously they impact the organization.
Depression is a case in point. More than 19 million U.S. adults suffer from depression, making it the most common form of mental illness, according to the government publication "Healthy People 2010." It is also a huge problem in other industrialized nations. A report from the World Health Organization notes that about one in ten workers suffer from depression, anxiety, stress or burnout. Yet, depression is just the tip of the mental health iceberg. About 5% of working-age U.S. adults report that a physician or other health professional has told them they have an emotional or mental illness, reports a national study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Yet, even 5% may be a gross underestimate. Over one in five (22%) of the U.S. population has a diagnosable mental disorder, according to the U.S. surgeon general.
Mental health problems have a large and growing impact on the workplace. As a percentage of payroll costs, stress and mental health problems have shot up about 200% over the past five years in North America, reports the Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health. Mental health conditions are the reason for about one in ten group long-term-disability (LTD) claims in the U.S. In the private sector, such cases account for 9% of all LTD claims filed and about 13.1% of the dollar costs for such claims. Moreover, Metlife Disability reports that, in 2000, short-term-disability claims for psychiatric illnesses represented between 7.5% and 8% of cases and $70 million or more in costs.
Again, this is just a part of the problem. At the international level, mental health conditions are costing businesses about $120 billion a year, and depression represents about half of those costs, reports the Human Resources International Report. In the U.S., 200 million workdays are lost due to mental illnesses each year, according to the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization. These organizations also report that mental health problems are causing many people in various nations to take early retirement.
Despite such costs and warning signs, European and North American businesses aren't paying enough attention to mental health problems, claims Marten de Vries of the World Federation for Mental Health. For example, a Hay Group report states that the value of general healthcare benefits declined 11.5% between 1988 and 1998, but behavioral healthcare benefits dropped by 54.7% during the same period. This raises the question of whether or not mental health insurance will be increasingly viewed as a "luxury" as the cost of medical insurance continues to rise.
Some experts say that, to control costs, employers should be trying to spot cases early and provide access to treatment. More employee training may be necessary to make this work. At present, management recognizes only about 6% of depression-related cases, estimates the Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health. If that portion were increased to 50%, companies with 1,000 to 10,000 employees could boost their direct bottom-line profit $7 billion to $10 billion over five years, according to one estimate.
Some employers have already taken action and are reporting positive results. Kennecott Copper Corporation, for example, discovered that providing mental health benefits offered a return on investment almost sixfold. After offering the workforce at its Utah division mental health counseling, the company reported a 48.9% reduction in hospital medical and surgical expenses and, overall, costs decreased about 64.2%. Officials estimate that every dollar spent on mental health care generated about $5.78 in savings for the company.
But what good are mental health benefits if employees are afraid to access them? L.L. Bean has made strides in overcoming negative attitudes as well as improving the employee/employer trust issue. In order to remove the stigma associated with conditions such as depression and stress, they renamed the entire category of behavioral care "emotional ergonomics," an approach that has to some extent been successful in selling such programs to employees.
====================================================
To read "Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General," go to
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html.
"The Unheralded Business Crisis in Canada: 'Depression at Work'" is at
http://www.gpcinternational.com/insights/roundtable.html.
The World Federation for Mental Health can be found at
http://www.mentalhealthnet.org/Content/Homepage/Partners/wfmh.htm
The American Psychiatric Association maintains the Web site http://www.apa.org/, providing a variety of mental health resources. The organization provides free brochures as well as information about various conditions.
The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems offers the Web site www.naphs.org/, providing fact sheets and information about behavioral health care and the industry.
The National Institute of Mental Health offers the Web site http://www.nimh.nih.gov/home.cfm, providing information about a wide range of mental-health-related issues.
To read "Healthy People 2010," go to
http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/
Depression is a case in point. More than 19 million U.S. adults suffer from depression, making it the most common form of mental illness, according to the government publication "Healthy People 2010." It is also a huge problem in other industrialized nations. A report from the World Health Organization notes that about one in ten workers suffer from depression, anxiety, stress or burnout. Yet, depression is just the tip of the mental health iceberg. About 5% of working-age U.S. adults report that a physician or other health professional has told them they have an emotional or mental illness, reports a national study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Yet, even 5% may be a gross underestimate. Over one in five (22%) of the U.S. population has a diagnosable mental disorder, according to the U.S. surgeon general.
Mental health problems have a large and growing impact on the workplace. As a percentage of payroll costs, stress and mental health problems have shot up about 200% over the past five years in North America, reports the Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health. Mental health conditions are the reason for about one in ten group long-term-disability (LTD) claims in the U.S. In the private sector, such cases account for 9% of all LTD claims filed and about 13.1% of the dollar costs for such claims. Moreover, Metlife Disability reports that, in 2000, short-term-disability claims for psychiatric illnesses represented between 7.5% and 8% of cases and $70 million or more in costs.
Again, this is just a part of the problem. At the international level, mental health conditions are costing businesses about $120 billion a year, and depression represents about half of those costs, reports the Human Resources International Report. In the U.S., 200 million workdays are lost due to mental illnesses each year, according to the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization. These organizations also report that mental health problems are causing many people in various nations to take early retirement.
Despite such costs and warning signs, European and North American businesses aren't paying enough attention to mental health problems, claims Marten de Vries of the World Federation for Mental Health. For example, a Hay Group report states that the value of general healthcare benefits declined 11.5% between 1988 and 1998, but behavioral healthcare benefits dropped by 54.7% during the same period. This raises the question of whether or not mental health insurance will be increasingly viewed as a "luxury" as the cost of medical insurance continues to rise.
Some experts say that, to control costs, employers should be trying to spot cases early and provide access to treatment. More employee training may be necessary to make this work. At present, management recognizes only about 6% of depression-related cases, estimates the Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health. If that portion were increased to 50%, companies with 1,000 to 10,000 employees could boost their direct bottom-line profit $7 billion to $10 billion over five years, according to one estimate.
Some employers have already taken action and are reporting positive results. Kennecott Copper Corporation, for example, discovered that providing mental health benefits offered a return on investment almost sixfold. After offering the workforce at its Utah division mental health counseling, the company reported a 48.9% reduction in hospital medical and surgical expenses and, overall, costs decreased about 64.2%. Officials estimate that every dollar spent on mental health care generated about $5.78 in savings for the company.
But what good are mental health benefits if employees are afraid to access them? L.L. Bean has made strides in overcoming negative attitudes as well as improving the employee/employer trust issue. In order to remove the stigma associated with conditions such as depression and stress, they renamed the entire category of behavioral care "emotional ergonomics," an approach that has to some extent been successful in selling such programs to employees.
====================================================
To read "Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General," go to
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html.
"The Unheralded Business Crisis in Canada: 'Depression at Work'" is at
http://www.gpcinternational.com/insights/roundtable.html.
The World Federation for Mental Health can be found at
http://www.mentalhealthnet.org/Content/Homepage/Partners/wfmh.htm
The American Psychiatric Association maintains the Web site http://www.apa.org/, providing a variety of mental health resources. The organization provides free brochures as well as information about various conditions.
The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems offers the Web site www.naphs.org/, providing fact sheets and information about behavioral health care and the industry.
The National Institute of Mental Health offers the Web site http://www.nimh.nih.gov/home.cfm, providing information about a wide range of mental-health-related issues.
To read "Healthy People 2010," go to
http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/