The theme for
World Mental Health Day for the next two years -- October 10th, 2000
and 2001, will be Mental Health and
Work. Â The World Federation for
Mental Health (WFMH) and the World Health Organization (WHO), sponsors of World
Mental Health Day, adopted this theme in response to the landmark study, The Global
Burden of Disease,
co-authored by the Harvard School of
Public Health, the WHO, and the World Bank. Â
The study
examines the future health care needs of the world´s population with the aim of
aiding public policy decision-makers. Â Â
This type of study normally measures the prevalence of disease by the
number of deaths it causes. Â The Global Burden of Disease study was
unique in so far as it also took into account the disabling effects of
disease. Â The results were
surprising. Â Over the next twenty years
infectious diseases and malnutrition will no longer be the leading causes of
death and disability. Non-communicable diseases, such as depression and heart
disease, are expected to account for "seven out of every ten deaths in
developing regions" by the year 2020. Â
This new
approach revealed a previous underestimation of the disabling effects of mental
illnesses such as depression, alcohol dependence and schizophrenia. Â Â Although these diseases account for only
one per cent of all deaths, they "account for almost 11per cent of the disease
burden worldwide" and will account for 15 per cent of the world´s total disease
burden by 2020. Â These diseases are
expected to increase at a faster rate than cardiovascular diseases.
This "unheralded crisis" in world mental health is affecting the profitability of all businesses - in terms of greater employee absenteeism, lowered productivity, higher replacement costs and increased disability payments.
Mental Health - the "ultimate productivity weapon"
One of the issues to be addressed by the WFMH will be the link between job stress and productivity. Â In the paper "Mental Health Seen as Ultimate Productivity Weapon", the author points out that successful corporations will be the ones who "align corporate self-interest with mental health issues". Â These will be corporations that promote teamwork, open communications and profit sharing and so foster work climates where management´s respect for workers is in evidence. Â The expected advantages of these work practices will be to lower rates of disability, workplace accidents and absenteeism. Â
"securing decent work for women and men everywhere. Â It is the most widespread need, shared by people, families and communities in every society, and at all levels of development. Â Decent work is a global demand today, confronting political and business leadership worldwide. " Â The WFMH is acting upon this goal by providing a forum that will promote mental health awareness in the workplace.