I was recently asked to be one of the judges for the Black Dog Institutes writing competetion entitled “Tackling Mood Disorders in the Workplace”. The winners were announced yesterday by the Minister for Mental Health The Hon Barbara Perry.

PRIZES

1. Maree Matic - Sydney
2. Daniel Taylor - Adelaide
3. Rowena Harris - Tasmania

In addition to these 3 there were 10 “Highly Commended”

JUDGES SUMMARY

The judges were very impressed with the standard of the 200+ submissions to this years contest. Entries came from those living with mood disorders, their work colleagues, and managers. When assessing each contribution we decided to place equal weight on relevant ideas raised, writing style, and practical suggestions to improve the current situation.

 

The vast majority of entrants still feel very reluctant to disclose their illness for fear that it will have an adverse effect on their career prospects. It seems that a “work mask” is still very much the norm. Comments such as “the act is taking its toll” and “hiding in the toilet is not a long term solution” reflected the quiet despair.

 

The occupations most frequently represented in the submissions were teachers, lawyers, and recruitment consultants.

 

It was very difficult to narrow the final field down to the 3 winners and 10 “Highly Commended”, but they provided some clear messages.

 

Organisations need to be much more proactive in educating employees and managers, in how to recognise and support those with a mood disorder. Whilst the importance of appropriate policies was highlighted, contributors stressed that the most crucial element was a compassionate manager who reached out to address the issue quickly. Many lamented that “values on the wall were not lived on the floor”.

 

Whilst diversity in gender, ethnicity, and physical disability, is actively encouraged in many organisations, it is sadly lacking for those with mood disorders. In addition to supportive work colleagues, the other critical organisational requirement is flexible hours to allow for doctors/therapist visits, and low mood in the morning, when required.

 

Those working with mood disorders stressed that they also have an obligation to balance their lifestyle and manage their mental health – “Ironically it was only when I started working on my wellness that my work performance improved.” Many also explained that their mental health was made worse by pursuing the wrong career. Despite the challenges of work, the vast majority stressed how important it was to their self esteem.

 

It was extremely difficult to pick a final winner, but we felt that the contribution chosen, could well act as a summary for all 200+ entries.

 

Graeme Cowan, Judges Chairperson May 28, 2009

I couldn’t help but think that this competition was so important as it raised so many ideas regarding how things could be improved in the this area of where we all spend so much time, yet as I have highlighted previously, only 9% of those with depression feel comfortable discussing their condition with work colleagues - how absurd is that.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING

If a genie suddenly granted you one wish about how you would change the workplace to be a better place for those who live with depression and anxiety, what would it be. I would love you to respond to reply to this blog with your thoughts.

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: anxiety, burnt out, depression, depression cure, depression help, depression treatments, work stress

I recently read last Saurday’s Los Angeles times

To read the full article go to the news section of www.IamBackFromTheBrink.com

It provides some pretty startling results from a recent survey:

• 70% of US residents are experiencing significant stress due to the current state of the economy
• 49% say they have regular anxiety
• 48% are sad or depressed
• 33% are experiencing insomnia

A 2007 Medicare Private funded research study showed:

Absenteeism costs the Australian economy $7 billion whilst presenteeism (where workers are not fully engaged due to distress or illness) accounts for $25billion. They found that the greatest contributor to this lost productivity was depression.

An estimate of the cost of depression in Australia is $6.3billion.

A 2007 report ”How to improve the behavoural health of an organisation” by the global consulting firm Sibson showed:

• Mental health issues (of which depression and anxiety contribute the vast majority) account for 47% of all lost productivity compared to 26% for physical illnesses.

So how comfortable are people with depression talking with work colleagues about it?

With the level of stress faced by the workforce highlighted above, you would hope that employees would feel comfortable dsicussing their depression with work colleagues. In research I did for my first book I found the disturbing result that only 9% could discuss this situation with confidence it would not adversely affect how their peers viewed them.

I have recently been asked to be a judge for a writing competition by the Black Dog Institute called “Tackling mood disorders in the workplace”. The 100+ essays I read revealed the sad situation where people with mood disorders are on the whole, terrified of revealing their conditon to fellow employees for fear it will jeopardise their career prospects.

This situation is untenable, and on April 1st I will be speaking at a forum for 100 HR professional hosted by the outplacement, and career planning organisation www.Directioneering.com  to highlight the absurdity of this.

I will also be outlining what I believe is an achieveable path forward to make the workplace as friendly to those with mental illness as it is to people with cancer, a broken leg, blindness or any other physical disability.

In my next blog entry I will address this way forward. If you have any comments regarding what has been outlined, please respond to this blog.

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: anxiety, burnt out, depression, work stress