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Worried sick? Back-to-work support revealed

Thoughtful Talk confidentially to Samaritans any time of the day or night.

Whatever you're going through, whether it's big or small, don't bottle it up. We are here for you if you're worried about something, feel upset or confused, or just want to talk to someone.

Measures to help unemployed people who are experiencing depression or anxiety to get back to work have recently been announced by government ministers, including better access to counselling and a new network of employment support workers.

Health secretary Alan Johnson and work and pensions secretary James Purnell announced an extra £13 million to provide better access to talking therapies and employment support to help those who are on long-term sick leave or unable to work because of depression.

"In the current economic downturn, the potential exists for more people to become anxious or depressed and experience lower levels of mental well-being", said Mr Johnson on unveiling the plans.

Mr Purnell added: "We will do everything we can to support people during these difficult times. We are working across government to give people with mental health conditions the help they need to stay in or get back to work."

Around six million adults in the UK have depression or anxiety and many of these remain on incapacity benefits as they are unable to seek work, the government says.

The speed at which the measures are being pushed through, however, suggests anxiety in government over the impact of the recession on individuals' mental health and the wider consequences for the nation's health and finances that this could incur.

Employers urged to confront mental health issues

The package of measures follows a warning in February from a leading mental health charity that mental health in the workplace must be recognised and dealt with more effectively by firms.

The Mental Health Foundation report, based on research carried out by Loughborough University, found that almost half (45 per cent) of people with a physical illness, such as back pain, heart disease or cancer, experienced mild to moderate depression on returning to work. Yet many of those returning after a period of absence were more worried about telling their employer about their mental health issues than their physical illness.

Many of those surveyed felt unable to tell their managers about the issues they were dealing with, despite the depression impacting on their wellbeing and ability to function at work, the report found.

"It is sad that many employers can deal better with life threatening and frightening illnesses like cancer than mild to moderate depression, because of stigma and lack of information," said Andrew McCulloch, the Mental Health Foundation's chief executive, on publication of the report. He added that the findings show that managers are willing to help but they often lack the knowledge or skills required to deal specifically with mental health issues.

Recommendations made by the report include more effective 'return to work' schemes and mental health training to be provided within the workplace to promote a better understanding of anxiety and depression.

"Whilst the need for change is clear, this report is not about knocking employers. It makes clear the need for improved training for managers and clear policies and procedures from HR," Mr McCulloch said.

The cost to business

Work-related absenteeism already costs UK business around £750 million each year, according to government think tank, Foresight. 'Presenteeism' - where the individual is at work but not productive - could cost the UK around £900 million a year, Foresight suggests.

Yet evidence indicates that the great majority of employers seriously under-estimate the prevalence of mental health problems among their employees. A Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health report, published in December 2007 found that nearly one in six employees is affected by a mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety. A survey of senior managers, cited by the centre, found that nearly half thought that none of their workers would ever suffer from a mental health problem during their working life and over two-thirds put the rate at less than one in 20.

An emotional and mental recession

Workers in America are faring little better than their British counterparts, experts suggest. In an interview with Reuters, Dr Elisha Goldstein, a Los Angeles-based psychologist who specialises in stress issues, said: "There's certainly been a pretty severe increase in stress, and stress is a precursor to anxiety and panic."

"Companies start to become less effective," Dr Goldstein told the news agency, following research indicating that economic worries are taking their toll on workers' mental health. "It starts to become a downward spiral, where an economic recession starts to become more of an emotional and mental recession," she added.

Work-life balance

To tackle mental health in the workplace effectively, the key is a good work-life balance, according to a Foresight group report published in October last year, which urged businesses to reconsider the issue of employees' mental health in the current recession.

Professor Cooper, one of the authors of the report, told the BBC that employees in the UK already worked longer hours than in other European countries, yet workers might feel under even more pressure to work longer hours given the increasingly unstable economic climate.

"We want more opportunities to request more flexible working arrangements. This is a business issue, it's not a soft issue," said Professor Cooper to the BBC on publication of the research. "People who work flexibly can have more job satisfaction, be healthier and more productive."

Samaritans trained volunteers are there to offer confidential, non-judgmental emotional support to anyone experiencing distress, you can contact them via phone on by phone on 08457 909090 (GB), or 1850 609090 (ROI), email jo@samaritans.org or face to face, visit http://www.samaritans.org/ to find your nearest branch.