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January 25, 2008
Employee mental healthcare pays off in improved productivity
Workforce Management (1/23, Demby) reports that behavioral health issues (mental health problems and substance abuse) "cause 217 million missed workdays annually, account for 7.6 percent of total healthcare dollars; are the fifth leading cause of short-term disability and, ultimately, the third leading cause of long-term disability."
While "[m]edical expenses may be the most obvious cost of behavioral health problems," the bigger drain on the corporate bottom line comes from "indirect costs, including lost productivity." Depression, stress, and "substance abuse are among the leading causes of short- and long-term disability and 'presenteeism' (coming to work although too sick to be productive)."
According to Clare Miller, director of the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health (PWMH), a program of the American Psychiatric Foundation, "Just letting employees know what benefits exist, and encouraging them to utilize them is a good strategy," since "40 percent of employees are unaware of the behavioral health benefits their employers offer." Miller added, "Employers need to be promoting what they are already paying for." When "employees seek and get mental healthcare, it pays for itself in improved productivity."
Related Links:
- "That sinking feeling: Depression saps workers, employers," Elaine Robertson Demby, Workforce Management, January 22, 2008.
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- Workforce Management website
- "That sinking feeling: Depression saps workers, employers," Elaine Robertson Demby, Financial Week, January 14, 2008.
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Posted by admin at January 25, 2008 02:57 PM