Hi
Here's an article from the Globe and Mail about the prevelence of depression in the work place. Many people aren't confronting their problems. We, here on this site are working on ours.
Mental health problems, such as stress and depression, have reached such crisis proportions in the workplace that a coalition of senior business leaders will announce its backing tomorrow for comprehensive research aimed at creating healthier work environments.
With mental disability now accounting for an estimated 30 to 40 per cent of the disability claims being recorded by Canada's major insurers and employers, the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health is poised to announce two major research initiatives aimed at identifying management practices that lead to -- or exacerbate -- depression and mental illness among employees.
Employers have "beaten the safety problem" to a large extent, said former federal finance minister Michael Wilson, who has recently been appointed by the federal government in Ottawa to act as a special adviser on mental health.
But there is far less understanding -- or action -- on mental health issues, which can be aggravated by working conditions or a reluctance of employees to seek help, Mr. Wilson said.
Mr. Wilson, president and chief executive officer of Toronto-based UBS Global Asset Management (Canada) Co., lost his 29-year-old son, Cameron, to suicide in 1995.
Employers are becoming increasingly aware of the rising costs of disability claims from employees suffering from stress and depression, Mr. Wilson said.
Far less is known about the cost of lost productivity by employees who continue to work while suffering from these conditions.
A study to be led by the Harvard Medical School will survey more than 100,000 Canadian employees to document the cost benefits of early and effective treatment of depression in the labour force, particularly among men and women in their prime working years, Mr. Wilson said.
In a second major research initiative, to be announced tomorrow, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research will embark this summer on 10 years of applied research on mental health in the workplace.
Bill Wilkerson, chief executive officer of the business and economic roundta