Why leadership is vital for tackling workplace mental health

I recently received a call from a chief executive overseas who had slipped into a very dark place. He had acknowledged that his levels of anxiety were “out of control”: sliding relationships at home; constantly thinking about work problems; poor sleep patterns; negative thinking about work colleagues; poor diet and a growing reliance on alcohol. He was at the end of his tether, knowing he was becoming obsessive about himself and his staff not being good enough. There was no let up.

Anyone reading this will know of someone who has struggled with something similar.

A 2018 survey by Medibio, of 3500 employees from 41 organisations across Australia, revealed a third of employees were suffering from some form of mental health issue — 36% from depression, 33% from anxiety and 31% from stress.

In this significant study, depression is higher than anxiety for the first time and noticeably, mental health issues have increased by a third in the last decade. Some suggest the changing face of our work environment, which includes flexible working, increased utilisation of technology and globalisation, is fragmenting the traditional interactive workplace. It’s certainly true that people are not staying in the same organisation as long as they did a decade or two ago. Read more

Mike Conway - SmartCompany - 17 August 2018