The UN’s International Labor Organization (ILO) has completed a study of mental health policies and programs affecting the workforces of the United States, Germany, Finland, Poland, and the United Kingdom, which indicates that the occurrence of mental health problems is on the rise. The report showed that as many as one in ten workers suffers from depression, anxiety, stress, or burnout, which lead, in some cases, to unemployment and hospitalization. The report estimates that anywhere from 3-4% of the GNP is spent on mental health problems in the European Union. In the US, the national spending associated with treatment of depression ranges between $30 to $44 billion. In many countries, early retirement due to mental health difficulties is increasing to the point where it is becoming the most common reason for allocating disability pensions.
Phyllis Gabriel, a vocational rehabilitation specialist and the chief author of the report, expressed alarm at the widespread costs of these disturbing trends: “Employees suffer from low morale, burnout, anxiety, stress, lost income, and even unemployment associated in some cases with the inevitable stigma attached to mental illness. For employers, the costs are felt in terms of low productivity, reduced profits, high rates of staff turnover, and increased costs of recruiting and training replacement staff. For governments, the costs include health care costs and insurance payments as well the loss of income at the national level.” In the US, clinical depression has become one of the most common illnesses, affecting one in ten working age adults each year and resulting in a loss of approximately 200 million working days each year.
The countries were chosen for the study because they are emblematic of different approaches to workplace organization and welfare systems, embodying different types of legislation, health care, and approaches to mental health issues. The series of detailed country studies addresses such issues as workplace productivity, loss of income, health care and social security costs, access to mental health services, and employment policies for the mentally ill.
For more details of the ILO report, visit www.ilo.org/public.
