EMPLOYER'S PRACTICES IN THE WORKPLACE
As the reports recognises, mental health difficulties are a significant cause of illness and disability in the working population. Though it is difficult to quantify the impact of work on an individual's mental health (e.g. personal identity, self esteem, social recognition), the workplace is one of the key environments that affects our mental well being and health. Minimising work-related mental health risks and stress in the workplace can significantly reduce the risk of an employee developing mental health difficulties. Yet, as the US report states, traditionally, typical worksite health promotion programmes have overlooked mental health issues. During the last ten years, however, there has been a growing acknowledgement and awareness of the role of work in promoting or hindering mental wellness and its corollary, mental illness, and many employers are actively promoting mental health in the workplace. However, mental health problems are not the exclusive responsibility of employers and can not be addressed in the workplace alone.
In the United States, employers are increasingly willing to invest in educating their workforces about mental health issues. Employers have expressed their concern over the rising health care costs and lost productivity due to mental health problems. Moreover, the increased visibility of the disability rights' movement and the impact of the introduction of anti-discriminatory legislation have encouraged employers to take action. Today, approximately 40 % to 60 % of worksites with more than 50 employees offer some type of mental health programme, including stress management programmes. A continuum of efforts to address mental health problems in the workplace includes employee education about health promotion and disease prevention; management training; and employee assistance programmes; benefit design and administration; and information management and integration of corporate health related services.
In Finland, occupational health care is promoting work ability with the support of the government as well as employers' and workers' organisations. Often the activities target issues such as the work environment (e.g. enhancing occupational safety and ergonomics); management and the organisation of work (e.g. better job design, good communication, clear goals, and independence at work); learning opportunities (e.g. improving occupational skills and team work skills or promoting independent study); and health promotion (e.g. healthy life style, substance abuse prevention, and physical activities). These activities do not directly address mental health issues but are essential in terms of reducing stress and creating a "healthy work organisation."
In Germany, mental health difficulties in the workplace are addressed within the framework of "corporate health promotion" which encompasses a wide range of joint measures taken by the employers, employees, and society to improve health and wellness in the workplace. The measures aim to improve work organization and working conditions, promote employees' active participation, and reinforce their competence. The social partners actively support corporate health promotion and see it as a way of reducing absenteeism and costs related to absenteeism. Corporate health promotion measures addressing stress prevention in the workplace target both the individual (health education, relaxation procedures and training, role-playing) and work design and organizational issues. In terms of work design and organizational issues, Germany has developed a specific, systematic procedure called the "health circle," which brings together all the relevant stakeholders to identify problems and hazards in the work environment and to develop solutions. Studies on health circles and their implementation point to the high acceptance, efficiency, and popularity of the procedure.
