No let up in workplace mental stress

Two new surveys suggest more work may need to be done to address workplace mental health problems in Australia. Figures released by the Tas Workplace Relations Minister David O’Byrne on October 24 showed mental stress continues to be one of the main causes of workplace injuries in Tas. Tas recorded 9,273 injuries in 2009  of which 372 were caused by mental stress. Meanwhile, a joint Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and La Trobe University survey released on October 25 revealed more than 10% of Melbourne paramedics suffer from “severe” or “extremely severe” depression. The survey of 342 Metropolitan Ambulance service staff on shiftwork rosters found paramedics were at greater risk of chronic fatigue than other shiftworkers. Almost 25% of paramedics suffered from an “above-normal” degree of anxiety and almost 40% from stress, the survey revealed.

Speaking at the launch of Safe Work Tasmania Week on Sunday (October 24), O’Byrne said national statistics showed more than three million people in Australia experience depression, anxiety or related alcohol and drug problems each year. “Each year, undiagnosed depression in the workplace costs $4.3 billion in lost productivity,” O’Byrne said. “Every employee with depression will, on average, take three to four days off work per month which is equivalent to over six million days lost each year in Australia.” O’Byrne said WorkCover Tas was already responding to the mental health problems via a research project based at the University of Tasmania, which focuses on mental health in small to medium enterprises. 

The Business in Mind project, launched in 2008, recently released a DVD and resource kit to assist small and medium business owners and managers to recognise the signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety, and manage mental health in the workplace. The three industries with the highest number of mental stress injuries in Tas were health and community services (91 injuries) followed by education (73) and government administration and defence (55). Small business in Tasmania recorded 1,333 injuries in 2009 – 32 by mental stress.

Ambulance Vic tackles mental health issues

Ambulance Victoria (AV) general manager for regional services Tony Walker told OHN the service hadestablished a working party to look at how AV management and the Ambulance Employees Association could “work better together” to identify and manage staff with mental health issues. Walker said programs already in place included “a very effective” peer support program and a longstanding counselling unit staffed by psychologists available to all AV staff and immediate family members 24 hours a day. It also encouraged all operational staff to have an appointment with a psychologist at least once a year to be assessed for depression, anxiety, stress and burnout. They would be given a self-care plan to manage any symptoms identified and a “thorough” health and safety program to address both mental and physical health issues. There was a focus on fatigue management, with the recruitment of new staff and roster reform to reduce the number of consecutive night shifts worked wherever possible. “We take the issue of staff wellbeing very seriously and are genuinely committed to continuing to identify, understand and address the psychological needs of all staff and their families both personally and professionally,”Walker said.

Source: Thomson Reuters Occupational Health News, 27 October 2010. For the issue, sign up for a FREE TRIAL of Occupational Health News and other Thomson Reuters premium news services. Click here to sign up.

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