Addressing stress in the workplace and how we can help each other cope
The suicides of designer Kate Spade and writer and TV personality Anthony Bourdain just days apart in June heightened awareness of escalating suicide rates in the U.S. and other developed countries. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are startling:
- Suicides have risen by 25 percent in the U.S. in the last 20 years.
- Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death overall in the U.S. in 2016, claiming the lives of nearly 45,000 people.
- There were more than twice as many suicides in the U.S. in 2016 (44,965) than there were homicides (19,362).
- Also in 2016, suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54.
The reasons for the increase are not completely clear. Some mental health experts point to an increased feeling of isolation among Americans, economic factors and a rise in mental illness. Others place some blame on increased use of technology to replace human interaction.
Work is stressing us out
The British-based Mental Health Foundation (MHF) reports that one-third of people in Britain have experienced suicidal feelings. During Mental Health Awareness week in May, the MHF stressed the need for societal change in the way mental health is treated, and called for new rules for employers to treat stress and mental health risks as seriously as physical health and safety.
A new MHF survey of more than 4,500 people regarding stress at the workplace found that millennials — those aged between
18 and 38 — say they feel more under pressure at work than their baby boomer colleagues, with more than one-fourth (28 percent) stating that working through stress was expected in their job. More than one-third of millennials (34 percent) say they felt stress made them less productive at work, while one-fifth (19 percent) of workers between 53 and 71 say the same.
One of the most concerning findings of the MHF survey: across both younger and older generations, a mere 14 percent of people said they were comfortable speaking to their managers about their stress levels.
Awareness in the workplace
Because people spend such a large portion of their day at work, and because work can be a significant source of stress in people’s lives, the workplace should be a critical component in any effort to reduce suicide rates.
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center states that workplace colleagues are in a good position to notice changes in behavior that could suggest risk for suicide or other mental problems. “Creating a culture of health and safety is both humane and good for business,” states a message on the organization’s website. The organization’s comprehensive approach for employers to participate in suicide prevention begins with ensuring access to effective mental health and suicide care and treatment by offering strong health insurance packages.
Another key component is teaching people to recognize when they need support and helping them find it. Educating workers on depression and how it can be treated helps remove the stigma and heightens awareness the treatment can be effective. The importance of making services more convenient and culturally acceptable cannot be overemphasized.
Depression’s impact on business
Of course, concern for employees’ well-being is reason enough for businesses to invest resources into workplace mental health campaigns. However, statistics make it clear that mental health problems exact a heavy cost on companies. According
to the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado, more days of work loss and work impairment are caused by mental illness than many other chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and arthritis. In a three-month period, patients with depression miss an average of 4.8 work days and suffer 11.5 days of reduced productivity.
Studies show only 38 percent of the total costs of major depressive disorder (MDD) were attributable to the disorder itself; the remaining 62 percent were incurred from direct and indirect costs from “co-curring” disorders such as anxiety disorders, adjustment disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and non-psychiatric medical conditions, including chronic pain and sleep disturbance.
“Clearly, the concern for depression in the workplace should extend beyond that of the disorder itself to its associated conditions that often require medical treatment, produce disability, and interfere with occupational functioning,” states Emily A. Kuhl, a senior science writer at the American Psychiatric Association, in a report from the Center for Workplace Mental Health. “This raises important considerations about secondary benefits of treating depression by potentially mitigating the effects of concurrent disorders, which could be impactful given their prominent contribution to depression’s economic footprint.”
Getting co-workers to help themselves
One of the biggest challenges in any attempt to reduce suicides is getting people to seek help when it is needed. Knowing what drives suicide and having improved treatment options won’t help if people don’t reach out for help when they are at the their most hopeless, Susan Lindau, a practicing therapist and adjunct professor at the University of Southern California who specializes in suicide, told the website Live Science.
A new CDC report found that more than half of the deaths by suicide between 1999 and 2016 happened among people who had not been diagnosed with mental illness. That’s where workplace efforts to reduce the stigma around depression — particularly among men — can be critical.
“It is very brave to be able to say, ‘I feel horrible and I need to reach out.’ Because you are revealing your vulnerabilities. Our culture does not really respect vulnerability.”
For many people in crisis, Lindau says, the most important thing is to get through a 20-minute window when they are the most tempted to end their lives. If they can reach out to family, friends or a co-worker and get through that moment, the pain won’t disappear, but they have much better odds of coming through the other side and moving toward treatment and recovery.
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