Home > Supporting employees with mental illness and reducing mental illness-related stigma in the workplace: an expert survey.

Hogg, Bridget and Moreno-Alcázar, Ana and Tóth, Mónika Ditta and Serbanescu, Ilinca and Aust, Birgit and Leduc, Caleb and Paterson, Charlotte and Tsantilla, Fotini and Abdulla, Kahar and Cerga-Pashoja, Arlinda and Cresswell-Smith, Johanna and Fanaj, Naim and Meksi, Andia and Ni Dhalaigh, Doireann and Reich, Hanna and Ross, Victoria and Sanches, Sarita and Thomson, Katherine and Van Audenhove, Chantal and Pérez, Victor and Arensman, Ella and Purebl, Gyorgy and Amann, Benedikt L (2023) Supporting employees with mental illness and reducing mental illness-related stigma in the workplace: an expert survey. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 273, (3), pp. 739-753. doi: 10.1007/s00406-022-01443-3.

External website: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-0...

An expert survey was designed to support the development of a workplace-based multi-country intervention tackling depression, anxiety, and mental illness-related stigma in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Academic experts and representatives of SME organisations, specific sector organisations, labour or advocacy groups, and occupational health organisations, were contacted across eight European countries and Australia. The survey comprised closed and open text questions to assess expert opinion about interventions for employees with mental health difficulties, interventions supporting their managers, and anti-stigma interventions. The survey was available in six languages. The online platform Qualtrics was used for data collection. Quantitative data was analysed through descriptive statistics and qualitative data was analysed through thematic analysis. Sixty-five of 146 experts responded, representing a 42% response rate.

Results showed only 26.2% of experts agreed that employees could speak openly about mental health issues, and 81.5% of experts indicated a large or medium unmet need for support for employees with mental health issues. Psychoeducational materials, face-to-face workshops and interventions based on cognitive behavioural therapy were ranked most likely to be taken up by employees. Experts rated as most useful for managers' guidelines on how to act if an employee has mental health issues (67.7%). The greatest number of experts indicated workshops of people with lived experience of mental illness (80.0%) and awareness campaigns (78.5%) were most required to tackle stigma. Responses were consistent between experts from different countries and areas of expertise. Experts in this multinational survey assessed that interventions supporting mental health in the workplace and tackling stigma are greatly needed. A multicomponent intervention with a wide range of materials and tools is supported.


Item Type
Article
Publication Type
International, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
All substances
Intervention Type
Harm reduction
Date
April 2023
Identification #
doi: 10.1007/s00406-022-01443-3
Page Range
pp. 739-753
Volume
273
Number
3
EndNote

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