Painful Experiences
Painful Experiences
Karen Brooks
COM106 Information Literacy and Communication
Milagros Marchese
April 6, 2013
Painful Experiences People experience a variety of painful issues in their lives. From the beginning, some issues are more challenging than others, in part because of struggles with either addiction or depression. People who manage their concerns are also managing them when they step into their daily jobs. The problems people carry with them can affect their job performance and their relationships. Their compromised attention can cause additional frustrations such as mistakes and missed work. This is a significant problem businesses must address and some solutions have been discussed that offer the potential for a plan of action.
Workplace Statistics One in four adults suffers from mental health disorders every year (Statistics, 2010). If we consider the number of people who made up the American population in 2004, this constitutes approximately 57.7 million people. There is approximately a .9% population growth within the United States each year (Population Growth, 2011), and fewer people are choosing to seek mental health support than ever before. The survey referenced above states that people would rather, “eat (28%), smoke (14%), shop (15%) or watch TV (36%) than see a therapist as a stress management technique.” (Survey Says, 2010). According to Harvard Medical School (2010), a study using the “Who” questionnaire was performed at 10 companies, polling 34,622 employees the financial impact of 25 chronic physical issues and mental health issues the cost per employee. Calculating the cost per employee companies were paying for medical and pharmacy expenses to include time lost from and work and low productivity.
“When research ranked the most costly health conditions (including direct and indirect costs), depression ranked first, and anxiety ranked fifth. Obesity, arthritis, back and neck pain in between.
Karen Brooks
COM106 Information Literacy and Communication
Milagros Marchese
April 6, 2013
Painful Experiences People experience a variety of painful issues in their lives. From the beginning, some issues are more challenging than others, in part because of struggles with either addiction or depression. People who manage their concerns are also managing them when they step into their daily jobs. The problems people carry with them can affect their job performance and their relationships. Their compromised attention can cause additional frustrations such as mistakes and missed work. This is a significant problem businesses must address and some solutions have been discussed that offer the potential for a plan of action.
Workplace Statistics One in four adults suffers from mental health disorders every year (Statistics, 2010). If we consider the number of people who made up the American population in 2004, this constitutes approximately 57.7 million people. There is approximately a .9% population growth within the United States each year (Population Growth, 2011), and fewer people are choosing to seek mental health support than ever before. The survey referenced above states that people would rather, “eat (28%), smoke (14%), shop (15%) or watch TV (36%) than see a therapist as a stress management technique.” (Survey Says, 2010). According to Harvard Medical School (2010), a study using the “Who” questionnaire was performed at 10 companies, polling 34,622 employees the financial impact of 25 chronic physical issues and mental health issues the cost per employee. Calculating the cost per employee companies were paying for medical and pharmacy expenses to include time lost from and work and low productivity.
“When research ranked the most costly health conditions (including direct and indirect costs), depression ranked first, and anxiety ranked fifth. Obesity, arthritis, back and neck pain in between.
References: Works referenced N.D ESI Employee Assistance Group (November 2010). Retrieved from: http://www.theeap.com/ Founder, E.M. (Sept. 2007) Drug and alcohol rehab costs a fraction of the cost of addiction. B Net. Retrieved on November 2010 from: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-costs-a-fraction-of-the-cost-of-addiction-773206.htm Gelb, B. & Corrigan, P.W. (2008, July 15). How managers can lower mental illness costs by reducing stigma. Harvard Business Review. Abstract retrieved from: http://hbr.org/product/how-managers-can-lower-mental-illness-costs-by-red/an/BH282-PDF-ENG?Ntt=cost%2520of%2520mental%2520illness%2520in%2520busine Mental health problems in the workplace. (Feburary, 2010). Harvard Mental Health Letter. Retrieved on November 2010 from: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2010/February/mental-health-problems-in-the-workplace The high costs of cutting mental health: Mental illness in the workplace. (January 2010). National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved on November 2010 from: http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/State_Advocacy/About_the_Issue/Workplace.pdf National Institute of Mental Health. (Statistics 2010) Retrieved from: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml#Intro P R News Wire. Survey says: Fewer Americans using mental health professionals to manage stress. (November 2010). Retrieved from: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-says-fewer-americans-using-mental-health-professionals-to-manage-stress-69553742.html Population Growth Rate. (April 2011) World Bank: World Development Indicators. Retrieved from: http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_grow&idim=country:USA&dl=en&hl=en&q=population+growth+in+the+united+states