 |
 |
Mental Illness Affects One-Third of Aussie Workers
ShareAustralia’s Biggest Mental Health Check-In, led by mental health tech company Medibio, found 36% of workers experienced depression, 33% had anxiety, and 31% were stressed.
Interestingly, in the past anxiety was twice as common as depression. But the latest findings suggest depression now exceeds anxiety.
Why do so many of us experience mental illness?
Peta Slocombe, senior vice president of Medibio, said the nature of work and life has changed in recent years.“A decade ago, one in five Australians were found to be suffering from a mental illness in any given year,” she said.
“The manner in which we all live, work and interact has changed radically since then — to the detriment of our mental health.”
The silent illness
Incredibly, the survey revealed 73% of men who tick the boxes for having a mental health disorder have no idea they qualify. Compare that with 58% of women.Even more startling, just 17% have sought help for their mental health issues – and less than half of Aussie workers felt they could discuss their problems with a supervisor.
What can employers do?
Slocombe believes the workplace hasn’t kept up with the rise in mental illness:“Organisational approaches to mental health have not kept pace. It is now vital for all organisations, from government to business, to change the way they address this major societal challenge.
“We need a change in addressing mental illness. Using innovative technology, we can now understand how our heads and hearts are tracking — shifting from subjective to objective diagnosis and in doing so, accelerate diagnosis and treatment.”
Where to get help
If you're experiencing mental health difficulties, a Psychologists, counsellor, or therapist can help.
Printer Friendly Version
References
