No longer taboo on mental illness

No longer taboo on mental illness

27.04.2011

To the „World Day for Safety at Work“ On April 28, Annelie Buntenbach, board member of DGB, announced on Wednesday in Berlin: „The mental stress in the world of work has reached alarming proportions and must no longer be taboo by employers and politicians. Absenteeism due to mental illness alone has risen by twelve percent compared to the previous year; since 1999, the increase has been 80 percent. In addition to the suffering of those affected and their families, mental illness also causes high costs for social insurance companies and businesses. Thus, only the statutory health insurance with direct costs in the amount of around 17 billion euros burdened by work-related illnesses. Across the EU, the cost of psychosocial risks is estimated at € 265 billion a year.

The dramatic increase in mental illness is due not least to increasing time pressure, stress and poor working conditions, especially in precarious jobs. We therefore call on the Federal Government to put a stop to the proliferation of precarious employment and to improve the compatibility of work and family life. Employers' organizations are called upon to incorporate the mental health of workers in the health and safety strategy so that the issue is no longer taboo in the workplace. "(Pm)