Mental health issues costing businesses more than $10 billion a year
BUSINESSES are being hit hard by the cost of mental illness on their workforce. But evidence shows supporting their employees will benefit everyone in the long run.
SUICIDE is the biggest killer in young Australians and accounts for more deaths in people aged 16 to 24 than car accidents.
About 45 per cent of Australians will suffer from a mental health condition at some point in their life and this is costing businesses more than $10 billion a year.
Australian businesses pay about $4.7 billion for absent workers, $6.1 billion due to a loss of productivity and $146 million in compensation claims.
Beyond Blue policy, research and evaluation leader Stephen Carbone said businesses needed to treat people with mental health conditions the same as they would somebody with a physical injury.
“Stigma is diminishing but it’s still one of the biggest barriers,” he said.
“People are still quite fearful of the consequences of telling employers if they have a mental health condition because they think it will impact job promotion or opportunities — something that wouldn’t be an issue for somebody who hurt their knee.”
Dr Carbone said businesses were impacted by employees with mental health conditions because they weren’t as efficient and productive.
A 2014 report released by PwC on mental health in the workplace found that businesses could gain $2.30 worth of benefits for every dollar spent trying to tackle mental health issues.
The report found 33 per cent of workers in the financial and insurance sectors were suffering from a mental health issue.
About 23 per cent in the information media and telecommunications and the essential services sectors were affected.
The hospitality and art and recreation industries have the highest rate of depression while anxiety is most prominent in the IT, media, financial and insurance industries.
“Mental health conditions can develop in a workplace environment but you also get situations where people have pre-existing problems that are exacerbated in the workplace,” Dr Carbone said.
“Depression and anxiety can affect performance and often people with mental health conditions aren’t as efficient at doing their job as they normally would be.”
The conversation around mental health issues continues for R U OK Day today, which comes just after AFL star forward Lance Franklin revealed his inner struggles.
“There’s not one specific industry where mental health conditions aren’t a concern,” Dr Carbone said.
“As we have seen with Lance Franklin, it can affect anybody at any age, walk of life or sector.”
The expert said it was vital to continue shedding light on the issue.
“There is a stigma across the board because people have a certain level of misunderstanding about mental health conditions,” Dr Carbone said.
“There are a lot of myths out there that are hard to dispel but we’ve seen the level of discrimination decrease.
“The more we talk about it at work and in schools, the more people will see this as just another part of life and there is nothing to be scared or apprehensive about.”
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