Workplace Trends Linked to Mental Health Crisis in Canada Research briefing puts stress, violence, conflict and harassment on the table November 15, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Macdonald, Public Relations
(416) 961-0023
1 800 461-9722
lmacdonald@warrenshepell.com

A new research briefing from WarrenShepell, Work-Related Stress: An EAP’s Perspective, reveals drastic increases in the severity and frequency of workplace issues and echoes recent calls for action for senior business and health leaders to acknowledge and address the effects of mental health disorders on the business economy.

Recognizing that workplace conditions are key to sustaining today’s business - and that healthy, productive employees are a viable investment - the Briefing intends to provide a more precise understanding of work-related mental health concerns. The goal is to encourage corporate responsibility for policies and practices linked to employee mental health and wellbeing.

“That mental health has become a measurable cost that affects business’ bottom line is indisputable. For most, it has become the number one employee health issue. It’s estimated that disability and related costs for mental illness, costs companies on average 14 per cent of their net annual profits. This puts a premium on employee mental health and reinforces the idea that Canada’s greatest business asset is its human capital,” says Rod Phillips, president and CEO of WarrenShepell.

Finding highlights:

• Workplace stress and work-related conflict are among the top eight reasons why employees request counselling assistance.
  
• A three-year trend shows that the “severity” level of work-related stress is rising overall with high stress levels increasing most significantly – from 36.34% in 1999 to 54.43% in 2001.
  
• although stress has contributed to the greatest proportion of work-related cases there is a change in the relative proportion of workplace stress compared to other work-related issues, in particular conflict and harassment:
  
• The number of employees seeking help for work-related conflict has increased from 23 percent in 1999 to close to 30 percent in 2001.
  
• The number of employees seeking help for harassment has almost tripled from 1999 to 2001.
  
• There is a drastic increase in the severity of work-related issues with workplace violence and work-related conflict contributing the greatest increases.

- The WarrenShepell Research Group

There is ample evidence that organizations have significant cause for concern about work-related issues. The changing nature of these issues, the increasing stress caused by them and the potential impact on the workplace provide a compelling rationale to take action

The complete findings from the Briefing will be presented by Rod Phillips to key business players at the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health chaired by Michael Wilson on November 14^th. The Roundtable goal is to offer current information and relevant strategies to address mental illness and raise awareness of the impact of untreated mental illness - in the workplace and at home.

Click here to download the Report

Rod Phillips, president and CEO of WarrenShepell and Roundtable participant, Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, is available for interviews on the crisis of workplace mental health trends in Canada.

Founded in 1979 by Dr. Warren Shepell, WarrenShepell Corporation is a leading provider of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and related organizational health and wellness services, offering services to 3,000,000 employees and their families in more than 2,000 organizations in Canada, the United States and internationally.

© 2005 WarrenShepell