As you will have seen through the consistency of our work, ihelpworld is a pacifist movement counting on conscience to be the moral compass of our world. We are not hear to preach. We are here to make a positive difference and wish to leave you as an Employer or Manager with a few constructive thoughts.

We respectfully contend that responsible Employers can make the single biggest difference to Worldwide Wellness through the merit of business governance with employee wellbeing as one of the key priorities.

If workplaces were to view themselves as supply chains through which goodwill and wellness cohabitate with ethical commercial drivers; then a myriad of deliverables stand to emerge including but not limited to the intangible value of employee fulfilment and happier/healthier families that make such businesses attain well rounded success. This has been time tested with the Tata Conglomerate role-modelling this for over a century.

Implementing processes to identify bullying, depression and excessive stress with effective confidential remedial pathways, may not only improve wellness outcomes, but also vastly improve overall workplace outcomes. (source Outreach and Care Management for Depressed Workers and Impact on Clinical and Work Productivity Outcomes, 2007).

Stress overload in the workplace from economic, environmental, social, workplace bullying and psychological factors increases the risk for accidents, depression, fatigue, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  There are plenty of sources of good data from around the world.  Below is a sample range.

1] Depression accounts for multi billions annually in medical expenditures, lost productivity and other costs among U.S. businesses alone. (The Wall Street Journal).

2] 10% of the workforce is currently depressed, and 75% of those suffering from depression do not actively seek treatment. Of those with depression, only about 6% receive adequate treatment”. (Unheralded Business Crisis in Canada, 2000)

3] Another study examining the financial impact of 25 chronic physical and mental issues identified depression as the single most expensive ailment for employers.

4] A US study revealed that when employees are given access to care for depression, their businesses may save as much as US$10,000 a year per employee in prescription drug and wage replacement costs. Additionally, integration of depression intervention for employees with depression, heart disease, and diabetes significantly improved control of all disease, not just depression. (Collaborative Care for Patients with Depression and Chronic Illness, 2012).

5] Another US survey revealed that 61 percent of employees said that workplace stress had made them sick and 7 percent said they had actually been hospitalised. Job stress costs US employers more than $300 billion annually and may cause 120,000 excess deaths each year. In China, 1 million people a year may be dying from overwork.

Just as health illiteracy costs in many ways, inept managers with insecure emotional capital, cost their own employer and insurer/tax-payer funded healthcare from the stresses they unwittingly inflict in the name of performance on employees and their families. An investment in purchasing ‘Dying for a Paycheck’ by Jeffrey Pfeffer maybe one of few steps in the right direction.

In ihelpworld’s humble view, every ounce of resource invested upfront in workplace wellbeing and ensurance by senior-most leaderships;  that their downline managers are aptly HR conscious, stands to save workplaces a ton of disruption costs contemporaneous to productivity improvements and brand value appreciation from becoming known as an ethical best practitioner employer.

Below are some workplace ‘best practice’ ideals.  You may agree they may also be the right thing to do.

1] Integrate depression prevention and treatment in the workplace.

2] Release any caps on the number of visits to mental or other health service providers.

3] Show leadership in de-stigmatising efforts of depression by having your business support mental health non-profits. Participate in company-wide fundraisers for mental health.

4] Ensure that you positively and proactively:

a] Train all executives and managers at all levels on early identification of depression and bullying.

b] Write policies to support managers on dealing with bullying and depression related issues.

c] Implement programs that encourage healthy work practices, that eliminate workplace bullying and create a health index to monitor success of both individuals, and the company overall.

d] Safeguard through strict confidentiality employee reporting, that your managers are not bullies masquerading as professionals in the first instance.

Please contact us at support@ihelpworld.org to discuss ways to implement Mindpump’s resilience building technique at your workplace.