Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsMental Health IssuesThe Vitamin Model For Mental HealthThe Healthy WorkplaceAccommodations at Work

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Mental Health Issues

The Vitamin Model For Mental Health

The Healthy Workplace

Accommodations at Work

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We all know that work, in any form, has a significant effect on our emotional and psychological well-being for better or for worse—in particular, the quality and psychological health of the workplace environment. As research is increasingly showing, a negative work environment can lead to a number of physical and mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

Atoxic work environmenthas also been linked to insufficient sleep, which increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and over time has been associated with ashortened lifespan.

Not to mention the economic impact that the poor mental health of its employees has on companies and organizations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), five of the 10leading causes of disability worldwideare mental health-related and the estimated cost to the global economy is approximatelyUS $1 trillion per yearin lost productivity:

At a GlanceThe quality of our work environment, in any industry, has a significant impact on our emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. As is the case with any harmful condition, the best intervention is prevention. For organizational leaders, paying attention to creating psychologically healthy work environments is not only crucial to the health of the company but, more importantly, to its people.

At a Glance

The quality of our work environment, in any industry, has a significant impact on our emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. As is the case with any harmful condition, the best intervention is prevention. For organizational leaders, paying attention to creating psychologically healthy work environments is not only crucial to the health of the company but, more importantly, to its people.

Workplaces that promote mental health and support people with mental disordersare more likely to increase productivity and reduce absenteeism, thus benefiting from the associated economic gains. Employees’ mental health problems and their impact on an enterprise’s productivity and disability/medical costs are critical human resource issues. Employers’ organizations, trade unions and government policy-makers are realizing that the social and economic costs of mental health problems in the workplace cannot be ignored.

Mental health issues can manifest in a variety of ways in the workplace, including:

Workplaces that promote mental health and support people with mental disordersare more likely to increase productivity and reduce absenteeism, thus benefiting from the associated economic gains.

Employees’ mental health problems and their impact on an enterprise’s productivity and disability/medical costs are critical human resource issues. Employers’ organizations, trade unions and government policy-makers are realizing that the social and economic costs of mental health problems in the workplace cannot be ignored.

Should You Tell Your Boss If You Have a Mental Health Condition?

One framework for looking at how our environment affects our well-being is the Vitamin Model of Mental Health. As its name suggests, theVitamin Modelis based on an analogy of the relationship between vitamins and physical health.

According to researchers Maria Jahoda and Peter Warr, the presence of certain psychological features of the environment—or “environmental vitamins” so to speak—though important for psychological well-being, will have varying effects as their level increases.

For example, vitamins such as A and D, though essential for health, can be harmful when consumed in large quantities. However, other vitamins such as C and E, which are also essential to health, can be consumed in large quantities with no adverse effects.

The Vitamin Model was originated primarily to provide a more general perspective on how the psychological features of any environment affect mental health and well-being. It has since been applied to happiness or unhappiness in settings including the work environment.

The model posits that the well-being of employees and that of the organization correlates with the following12 characteristicsof a healthy workplace environment:

Below are some further components that have been correlated with employee and organization well-being:

Because of the stigma associated with mental disorders, employers need to ensure that individuals feel supported and are provided with the necessary resources to do their job.

PsychologistDr. Jacinta Jiménezdescribes psychological safety as “a climate in which people are comfortable expressing and being themselves and one that allows employees to feel respected and included.” This is especially true for teams. “If team members frequently do not feel they are in a group that is safe for interpersonal risk-taking, motivation, morale, creativity, and even innovation can drop.”

Further, says Jiménez, “Employees who work in strength-based organizations stay with their company longer, feel more engaged, learn their roles more quickly, and produce higher quality work.”

Julie Zadow, CMO at Reward Gateway, has spent two decades in the human capital management space working with companies to create productive, supportive working environments to enable the best performances from their employees. Throughout her career, she has invested in a mission to galvanize organizations and leaders worldwide to create a more human workplace. According to Zadow:

When You Should Take a Mental Health Day Off Work

Some examples ofreasonable accommodationsthat employees can request include altered breaks and work schedules (scheduling work around medical appointments and allowing time off for treatment), changes in supervisory methods, eliminating a non-essential job function that someone cannot perform because of a disability, a quiet office space or devices that create a quiet work environment, and permission to work from home.

Help Finding a New JobIf an employee has been working successfully in a job but can no longer do so because of a new disability, the ADA also may require reassignment to a vacant position that the employee can perform.

Help Finding a New Job

If an employee has been working successfully in a job but can no longer do so because of a new disability, the ADA also may require reassignment to a vacant position that the employee can perform.

The Benefit of Benefits—Mental Health Improves When Employers Show They Care

3 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mental Health in the Workplace: Mental Health Disorders and Stress Affect Working-Age Americans. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed April 10, 2019.Warr P.Happiness and Mental Health: A Framework of Vitamins in the Environment and Mental Processes in the Person.Handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice. London and New York; 2016.Fisher C.Happiness at Work.International Journal of Management Reviews. 2010;12(4):384-412. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00270.x

3 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mental Health in the Workplace: Mental Health Disorders and Stress Affect Working-Age Americans. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed April 10, 2019.Warr P.Happiness and Mental Health: A Framework of Vitamins in the Environment and Mental Processes in the Person.Handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice. London and New York; 2016.Fisher C.Happiness at Work.International Journal of Management Reviews. 2010;12(4):384-412. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00270.x

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Mental Health in the Workplace: Mental Health Disorders and Stress Affect Working-Age Americans. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed April 10, 2019.Warr P.Happiness and Mental Health: A Framework of Vitamins in the Environment and Mental Processes in the Person.Handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice. London and New York; 2016.Fisher C.Happiness at Work.International Journal of Management Reviews. 2010;12(4):384-412. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00270.x

Mental Health in the Workplace: Mental Health Disorders and Stress Affect Working-Age Americans. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed April 10, 2019.

Warr P.Happiness and Mental Health: A Framework of Vitamins in the Environment and Mental Processes in the Person.Handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice. London and New York; 2016.

Fisher C.Happiness at Work.International Journal of Management Reviews. 2010;12(4):384-412. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00270.x

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