May 6, 2009 – In an economic crisis, businesses generally tend to want to do more with less. But beware: workers, already under high tension, risk losing their mental health.
This is the warning sent to employers by psychologist Louise Saint-Arnaud, professor in the Faculty of Education at Laval University.1.
According to her, 30% to 50% of absences from work are due to mental health problems, according to data compiled for several years by salary insurance companies.
“In Quebec, mental health problems represent the main reason for absence from work and they lead to even longer periods of absence than those resulting from musculoskeletal disorders,” she explains.
Of the major mental health problems diagnosed, more than half are related to adjustment disorders, while mood disorders and severe depression account for 45% of cases.
How did we get here?
From adjustment disorder to depression
According to Louise Saint-Arnaud, the significant intensification of work and the restructuring that has occurred over the years have contributed to the emergence of adaptation disorders at work.
“Work is more and more the object of surveillance, control, competition between colleagues,” she says. Many experience stress, anxiety or difficulty sleeping. Some become non-functional and are diagnosed with adjustment disorder. “
There follows a more or less prolonged leave during which the chances of recovery are mixed, and the risk of sinking into serious depression is great.
“Recovery is based solely on the biomedical aspect – taking antidepressants, psychotherapy sessions, etc. -, but no one is concerned about the working conditions that caused the person to withdraw, ”deplores Louise Saint-Arnaud.
So that this person anticipates his return to work, knowing that he will return to the same “bath”.
“She will try to come back to the same situations, but the risk of relapse, or even depression, is great if we do not identify the real problems and do not take action to resolve them,” says the professor.
Recognition: the importance of coworkers
People with mental health problems at work have one thing in common: a loss of sense of work.
This loss of meaning stems mainly from a lack of valuation of work and the lack of recognition of the value of the work done, says the psychologist. “Recognition is a central pillar of mental health in the workplace because it is directly linked to the ability to fulfill oneself. “
According to Louise Saint-Arnaud, this recognition must certainly come from management, but it is even more significant when it comes from colleagues.
“Peers are important because they do the same work, have the same difficulties,” she explains. They have the ability to see what others don’t see, to report, to confirm and endorse what you do: it makes sense to have witnesses and that is why colleagues are so valuable. “
But for there to be recognition, mutual aid between colleagues must be allowed, even encouraged, which is not always the case according to the professor.
“We need to create more meeting places, reserve moments of discussion and spaces for speaking out to interact with each other,” she says. Not just with information technology, but also in person, to weigh and weigh the ways we see things. “
The work environment to rethink
According to Louise Saint-Arnaud, organizations should further analyze the factors that could have been present to avoid mental health problems at work. And take better action in preparing for the return of employees who have been absent for mental health reasons.
It therefore submits a first orientation to companies: to go beyond just economic values.
“The role and values of companies need to be rethought,” she says. You have to produce, yes, but while wishing to create a social life and atmospheres where people will want to flourish. “
Acting in this way on the climate and the work environment would promote better mental health at work.
“By affecting both, we will reduce absences and we will also have an effect on staff retention: this is an incentive to act for organizations,” concludes Louise Saint-Arnaud.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. Louise Saint-Arnaud is a psychologist, professor in the Faculty of Education at Laval University and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Professional Integration and the Psychosocial Work Environment. She is interested in the development of mental health interventions at work and more particularly in the reintegration of workers on leave due to a mental health problem.
