Stress-induced depression

DAK health report on stress in the job

13/10/2013

Mental health problems play an increasing role in the sick leave of workers. For example, depression has increased sharply. This emerges from the current DAK health report.

Stress in the job
Thanks to health prevention and good medical care, people in Germany are better off than ever before. For example, the absence of employees due to cardiovascular diseases and colds, the most common cause of illness, has declined significantly. On the other hand, in the past twelve years the days lost due to mental illness have increased by 83 percent. A reason for the DAK-health, the topic „Stress in the job“ to talk about.

Be constantly available
According to the German Trade Union Confederation, the increased work capacity is one of the reasons for the increase in stress-related outages. In a survey, about 50 percent had a weekly working time of 45 hours and 60 percent of respondents complained about the constant accessibility of smartphones and notebooks. The DAK has also found in a survey of their insured, how often they are contacted in the spare time by the boss, found that people who are constantly reachable, are more prone to depression. Dr. Jens Wenke, chief physician of the psychiatric outpatient department at the Waldkrankenhaus Köppern, comments: „Man has his limits of achievement, and when they are exceeded he becomes ill.“

Create a healthy working atmosphere
Experts see a reason for the large increase in sick leave due to mental illness, that sufferers and doctors handle it differently now than a few years ago. So said the head of DAK health Mainz, Steffen Kilian: „Many workers today are written ill with a mental health problem, whereas earlier they were incapacitated for example with the diagnosis of 'chronic back pain'.“ The director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the Mainz University Medical Center, Klaus Lieb, has also noted the increase: „We already see a trend. And it will continue to be a big topic.“ He said that companies should develop a different corporate culture and create a healthy working atmosphere. According to Claus Uebel of the DAK Southwest, some employers have recognized the problem and use the DAK health management. Because not only for the coffers, but also for the employers, a high sickness rate is an immense cost factor.

Burnout is not a mass phenomenon
The health report also refutes a common prejudice. „Burnout is not a mass phenomenon. Depression is eight times more common“, so Kilian. Incidentally, burnout is not a diagnosis in the classical sense, explained Professor Lieb: „It is rather a chronic state of stress, which can lead to a mental illness.“ Employees could be relieved by prevention models, such as the improvement of social communication, supervision concepts or a rest room in the company. „It is important to start early, before it gets out of hand“, so the expert.

Mental illness in Hesse has increased sharply
The DAK calculates the values, when, how often and why their members were sick leave, down to the counties. The study, which was published for the fifth time this year, shows that workers in rural areas are more ill-written. In Hessen, absenteeism due to mental illness increased by 83 percent from 2000 to 2012. Dr. Wenke says: „People rather dare to say that they are overloaded.“ a „urgent need for action“ In the companies sees the DAK area manager in Bad Homburg, Erhard Waldmann. He says that the topic should be taken from the taboo and that with the next recession the problem will be magnified: „In the past you had the breakfast director, today there are no more jobs for people who are not that strong.“ (Ad)