Mental suffering as a common disease

Relationship between the increase in mental illness and workload

05/13/2013

Mental illnesses have increased significantly in recent decades and developed into veritable common diseases. Based on the number of days of sick leave, mental illnesses could become the number one common disease in the near future, explained Ingo Kailuweit, Chief Executive Officer of the Commercial Health Insurance (KKH), in an interview with the „image“-newspaper.

For the significant increase in sick leave due to mental illness, the expert was also responsible for the enormous burden that many employees are exposed to in their daily work. „Pressure to succeed and constant accessibility are in the long run a danger for the health“, stressed the KKH boss in conversation with the newspaper. Accordingly, a significant increase in the days of absence can be observed. Because those who have mental health problems usually do not get fit after one week. For example, an evaluation of the KKH would have revealed that employees in the wholesale and retail trade, who were on sick leave due to mental health problems, missed an average of 43.6 days in 2012. In other sectors, absences from mental illness are similar.

Stress through constant accessibility
According to the expert, a significant contribution to the increase in mental illness, for example, is the constant call on the mobile phone, the reading of e-mails outside working hours and the growing pressure to perform in the working environment. Employers are urged to take countermeasures, emphasized Kailuweit. A demand that has already been expressed by different parties, but has so far taken only limited consideration. In terms of effectiveness, working time consolidation has long come first. Employees should do more and more tasks at the same time. In the end, most of the employees now work overtime, as do the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) „image“ confirmed. The psychological stress caused by the high work pressure is so enormous that many do not feel up to it in the long term. It is not without reason that in recent years an increase in sick leave due to mental illness has been continuously observed.

Mental stress leads to physical illnesses
In addition, mental stress at work not only has mental consequences, but can also lead to physical complaints, such as back pain. This was pointed out by the experts at the 53rd International Annual Meeting of the German Society for Occupational Medicine and Environmental Medicine (DGAUM), the Austrian Society for Occupational Medicine (ÖGA) and the Swiss Society for Occupational Medicine (SGARM / SSMT) in Bregenz (Austria). In fact, back pain from stress is not uncommon. According to the expert Andreas Tautz of the German society for industrial medicine and environmental medicine leads „the emotional pressure of many to physically tense and back pain.“ One more reason to keep the mental stress on the work at a tolerable level. (Fp)