Mental Health in the Workplace

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, mental health disorders, such as depression from the workplace, reduce cognitive performance by 35% of the time. Not to mention, Mental Health America, did their research and is also reporting that a bad workplace environment can cause 65% of employees to find it difficult to concentrate. Hearing these statistics hits home for 28-year-old, and Florida resident, Alex Levy. He’s one of the many Americans who are battling work-related depression.

Levy, pictured in this article, is a television news photojournalist says he knows firsthand what it feels like to work in a professional environment that causes a great deal of stress.

He says after 3.5 years in the news industry, and 1.5 years at his current news station, he’s found it difficult to remain happy, when the morale is so low. “I have a manager that he puts on an image that you’re his teammate, but it’s obvious that he’s not,” says Levy. He goes on to say, “I used to come to work so eager and passionate about video storytelling, but when you’re working in a bad environment with managers who make the job miserable, it’s hard to feel appreciated, therefore, the depression seeps in.”

Because of that, he says he now spends the bulk of his free time searching for a new job.

And he’s not alone. According to Mental Health America, 56% of employees are experiencing burnout from their current job, and spend time looking for a new job. That’s compared to 40% in 2018, while they also say, 9 out of 10 employees report that their workplace stress affects their mental health.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention says poor mental health and stress at work can negatively affect employees, job performance & productivity, engagement with their work, communication with coworkers, and daily function.

“I wish companies would put more effort into making sure their employees are happy and mentally healthy. If that were to happen, I guarantee they would see a major shift in workflow and the outcome of the product,” said Levy.

Mental Health expert Mariah McCrear, who is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at the Birmingham, AL VA Hospital, says, “often times when I am speaking with a patient they identify work-related stress as the source of a an aggregative factor. Sometimes it even creeps into their personal life as well.”

McCrear, who earned her Masters of Nursing at the University of South Alabama adds, “What I always advise is that they speak to a therapist so they can learn coping mechanisms and learn the best ways to address the problem with a boss or supervisor.”

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, says there are solutions, and action steps employers can take. Of the nine steps provided, Levy says this one stuck out the most: Provide managers with training to help them recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and depression in team members and encourage them to seek help from qualified mental health professionals.

The other action steps include: making mental health tools available, offering free mental health screenings, offer health insurance at a low cost for depression medications, and mental health counseling, provide free or subsidized counseling, self-management programs, distribute mental health brochures, host seminars or workshops that address depression and mental health, create and maintain quiet spaces and work, and give employees opportunities to participate in decision about issues that affect job stress.