Every fourth employee is psychologically stressed

Mental problems limit every fourth employee in the job

24/10/2012

The balance between work and private life is possible for fewer and fewer people in highly developed industrialized countries. In a study by the Association of German Plant and Factory Physicians, about 39 percent of respondents said that they would take the workload and stress home. One in four respondents also stated that they often or occasionally work in their professional life due to mental illness that has already occurred „to grind“.

One in four neglected the work due to mental problems
The number of sick days in Germany due to mental illness increases according to various evaluations of the health data more and more. A study by the Opinion and Research Institute GfK on behalf of the Association of German Plant and Factory Physicians came to the conclusion that more than one in four employees permanently or temporarily neglected his job because of mental stress. One in three said emotional and emotional problems would sometimes limit one's job. Only about 37 percent said that such problems never or almost never burden their own professional lives. However, many workers take the stress, burdens and anger home with them. 39 percent said that they would be unable to cope with their professional tasks as a result.

The association sees the reasons in the change of social values „away from traditional family life and personal relationships to multidimensional ones „networking Culture“ and relationship disability“ to lead. Additional have the „Shortening the working hours of the past decades has led to a consolidation of work, its complexity has increased. The dividing line between work and leisure is no longer clear today. All these factors lead to more mental illnesses“, so the doctors.

Increasing consolidation of work
Increasing downtime due to mental illness is increasingly affecting companies as well. For example, the President of the Presidency Wolfgang Panter said on Tuesday in Berlin: „The increase in mental illness and the associated absences of employees challenge companies and company doctors. The company physicians emphasized that only sustainable solutions can reverse the trend. This must „Include prevention, screening and therapies“, stressed the doctors.

The head of the association sees the chief executives responsible. These must address vulnerable employees in a timely manner. However, executives should not be tempted „to play the doctor“. With a lay diagnosis can be broken a lot, so that eventually nothing works. Instead, supervisors should give their employees hints as to who can help with mental health problems. „But work can not just make you sick“, so the factory doctors. For many, the work was a „important anchor for social relationships“.

For the non-representative study, a total of 240 employees of different ages and sectors were surveyed. The survey was conducted by GfK online with volunteers. (Sb)

Also read:
Stress: separation of work and after-work important
Talking to yourself to avoid stress
More and more people with mental illness

Picture: Gerd Altmann