Recognizing mental stress in the workplace

Mental well-being changes throughout life, quite often. Every day, actually. Sometimes you feel bad, sometimes you are depressed and lack energy - in another life situation you are gripped by a feeling of happiness and you could move mountains. Mental health is influenced by positive feedback as well as by strain and stress. In addition, individual resources, resilience, which are available for coping with crises, also have an influence. However, people suffer greatly from situations of psychological stress. In the course of a lifetime, up to 48 percent of all people are affected by a mental disorder at least once.

In particular, these are acute crises, severe addiction problems, severe anxiety with avoidance behavior, but also impulsive, aggressive behavior or compulsive hidden-aggressive behavior patterns.

The consequences of acute mental stress in the workplace

Mental health problems in the workplace are common and stressful for the people affected. Recent studies have shown that due to the corona pandemic, young people in particular are more often burdened by mental illness symptoms. Depression, anxiety and other mental health problems are currently on the rise. This has a significant impact on the world of work. If employees or managers are affected in their psyche, this has consequences. The effects may include violations of work rules, blatant conflicts, acute drop in performance, threats, increased sick leave, drunkenness at work or acute instability. As a rule, employers, supervisors and colleagues notice the psychological difficulties at an early stage.

Who addresses the issue?

However, most people find it difficult to talk about these problems, because people do not like to talk about their mental state. Especially in the workplace, such conversations are a taboo subject. This avoidance behavior not infrequently leads to a further deterioration of the situation for those affected and involved, and thus becomes a cause of anger and ill-feeling in the team. The people affected suffer doubly from the silence: they find no familiar people in the team with whom they can talk, and in addition, their work performance comes into focus due to their special nature.

There is a feeling of being left alone, combined with high work pressure: a bad mix for successfully coping with illness. Absences increase. Employees and supervisors are overwhelmed. Psychologically conspicuous behavior often leads to strong emotional reactions and divisions in the work environment, which further intensifies the problems.

Unemployment intensifies the psychological conflicts

And because the way out of this cycle is not found, the employment relationship is often terminated as a result. However, a termination is a burden for everyone involved, for the person affected and for the team. As a rule, unemployment increases the psychological stress. Being without work means social exclusion with dramatic negative consequences. Work has a stabilizing effect on the psyche. It provides identity, self-worth, interpersonal contact and daily structure. Dissolution of the employment contract should therefore be avoided as a matter of urgency, since the individual effects and the social costs will be high.

Create trust

Specific procedures are needed so that people with mental stress can remain integrated in the work process. We know from experience that there is a lack of information about the impairment in the workplace. In most cases, the person affected does not report it of his or her own accord. Even doctors who are treating the person do not talk to the employer on their own initiative. The interests of the affected person, the employer, the team and also the doctor are different due to the roles. Discrepancies and dilemmas are already apparent at this stage. Fears, uncertainties and assumptions dominate the topic.
Well-managed discussions in which the difficulties are addressed create reliability and trust for the next steps. Addressing the issues is a demanding management task and is unfortunately seldom performed.

An initial interview can be conducted during an annual review or an employee appraisal. However, it is important that the discussion is conducted constructively and fairly. In most organizations, these are established management processes. However, goals and expectations must be clearly defined and formulated, and then the scope for action must be demonstrated. If possible, occupational safety should be communicated as a desired goal in these discussions. This creates trust and can already bring about an improvement in the situation. If the discussions are successful, they relieve both the person concerned and the working environment.

Solution search in the smallest circle

Depending on the impairment, these interventions are not enough. Hesitation, waiting and evasion are not options. It turns out that, as a rule, the problem-solving strategy only takes place in the very smallest circle. However, the involvement of other actors is important for a solution in the case of serious issues. If the person is undergoing medical treatment, a three-way discussion can be organized (e.g. with the person concerned, the doctor or psychiatrist and the management). However, this requires the patient's consent due to data protection. The exchange can be informative for all stakeholders and have a positive influence on further action.

IV Early Detection
The IV offices advise Employers in difficult situations in the workplace -
regardless of any IV registration of the employee concerned.

Integrative measures

In this context, the discussion about work ability should be brought to the fore in a targeted manner. If physicians can get to know the workplace and the work tasks, it will be easier for them to issue a work ability certificate that promotes integration and also to gear therapy more specifically to work integration. Employers can learn what behaviors and talking points contribute to favorable disease outcomes. Further content can relate to supportive workplace adjustments due to disruptive influences such as noise, environmental activity, light incidence, etc.

By adapting the workplace and the work tasks, a lot can already be achieved in specific cases. In Switzerland, there are other support services that are unfortunately often not used or are used too late. If daily allowance insurance is available, there are trained case managers who supervise the case and can be called in. Psychiatrists, medical officers and consultants from IV offices are important contact points that have a supporting and integrating effect. Experience has shown that early involvement of specialized agencies and experts has an extremely positive influence on the course of the disease.

So start with an initial conversation at the first signs. As a rule, there is no way around mediating conversation interventions for work teams and especially for leaders.

Resource-oriented integration profile Compasso
The REP is a modular online toolwhich supports the process of (re)integration or job retention. It is mainly used after a longer period of complete incapacity for work due to accident or illness.

 

This technical article appeared in the printed edition SAFETY-PLUS 1-2022.

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