Work can be a significant source of stress and poor mental health, but “good” work can contribute to better mental health and the workplace itself can play a positive role in improving access to treatment.

 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) ranks depression as the leading cause[i] of disability and ill-health worldwide. A 2016 study found that lost productivity due to depression-related absenteeism and presenteeism costs the South African economy an estimated R232 billion a year, or 5.7% of GDP (in 2016 terms), [ii] while the WHO estimates the global economic cost of untreated depression at US$1 trillion annually.[iii]

 

With at least one in three South African adults[iv] likely to experience a mental health disorder in their lifetimes and employed people spending the bulk of their waking hours at work, the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) has highlighted that the workplace plays a key role in mental health.

 

“Good, meaningful work and mentally healthy work environments are beneficial for protecting mental health as well as aiding recovery from mental illness. Prioritising mental health in the workplace not only improves individual employees’ wellbeing but supports organisational performance and economic growth,” SASOP member and psychiatrist Dr Siki Gwanya-Mdletye said.

 

Speaking ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, Dr Gwanya-Mdletye said that strengthening the mental health aspect of workplace health services could also offer an innovative solution to the country’s large mental health treatment gap, which sees 75% of those with common mental health disorders[v] such as depression and anxiety going untreated.

 

The theme of World Mental Health Day this year is “It’s time to prioritise mental health in the workplace”.

 

“The workplace can contribute both positively and negatively to mental health. Work can provide not only a livelihood but meaning, purpose and satisfaction, while unhealthy organisational cultures or exposure to trauma in the workplace can worsen mental illness for vulnerable individuals.

 

“Given South Africa’s high prevalence of mental illness and the substantial treatment gap, the workplace can also provide a good location for structured interventions to supplement the under-resourced community level of mental healthcare.

 

“Such interventions need to go beyond feel-good pamper sessions and spa-days at work, as lovely as these may be,” she said.

Dr Gwanya-Mdletye said that a greater mental health focus in employee wellness programmes and workplace-based healthcare services held a number of benefits, starting with early detection and referral for treatment.

 

Early referral for primary-level treatment had been shown to shorten the duration of illness and improve long-term health outcomes, as well as reducing the need for costly specialist care or hospitalisation, she said.

 

Locating mental health interventions in the workplace also has the benefit of consistency in treatment, since workers go to work most days of the week and workplace health services would be an “ally in treatment adherence”, as lack of adherence to treatment is a major challenge in successfully treating mental illness.

 

“This approach also retains the mental health benefits of engaging in meaningful work, and enables those with a mental health condition to continue earning a living, remaining a productive member of society and maintaining independence and dignity.

 

“Given South Africa’s high unemployment rate, there are significant limitations in a unilateral focus on employees. Ideally, responsible work-based mental health interventions should broaden their reach at the very least to the families of the employees they serve, and possibly to their immediate communities if resources allow,” she said.

 

REFERENCES

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[i] World Health Organisation (WHO). 2017. "Depression: let’s talk" says WHO, as depression tops list of causes of ill health. https://www.who.int/news/item/30-03-2017--depression-let-s-talk-says-who-as-depression-tops-list-of-causes-of-ill-health

 

[ii] Evans-Lacko, S., Knapp, M. Global patterns of workplace productivity for people with depression: absenteeism and presenteeism costs across eight diverse countries. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol51, 1525–1537 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1278-4

 

[iii] WHO. Mental health at work. https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/promotion-prevention/mental-health-in-the-workplace

 

[iv] Herman AA, et al. The South African Stress and Health (SASH) Study: 12-month and lifetime prevalence of common mental disorders. SA Medical Journal, Vol 99, No. 5. 2009. http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/3374

 

[v] Sorsdahl K, et al. A reflection of the current status of the mental healthcare system in South Africa. SSM - Mental Health, Volume 4, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2023.100247