Prevention ‘saves mental health budget’
AAP Prevention is better than cure, not only for mental health problems but also for health budgets and the economy, experts say. Speaking at the Australian Rotary Health Symposium in Canberra, a panel of academics on Thursday said the billions spent every year on mental health could be slashed through a greater emphasis on prevention. [...]
Mental health revision tipped to cause rise in work claims
Mental health: Conditions workplaces may need to cater for. Australia is set for a sharp rise in workplace mental health claims because of changes in how mental illness is defined, workplace experts and psychiatrists fear. The symptoms needed for diagnosis of some conditions will be expanded when the controversial Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental [...]
Workplace mental-health claims rising
Mental-health claims to WorkSafe B.C. — including bullying and harassment — are on track to more than double in the first year as new provincial legislation allows for a broader definition under the category. A new WorkSafe package of practices for employers, supervisors and workers to prevent and deal with bullying and harassment is also [...]
New Partnership to Make Workplaces Mental Health Friendly
ACCI chief executive Peter Anderson and beyondblue chief executive Kate Carnell AO sign the new partnership deal. Picture supplied. A new partnership between depression Not for Profit beyondblue and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) is set to focus on making Australian workplaces more mental health friendly. ACCI chief executive Peter Anderson and [...]
Mental health anti-stigma campaign fails to shift health professionals’ attitudes
The Time to Change campaign seems to have made an encouraging impact on attitudes towards mental illness in England. According to independent evaluation of the campaign’s first four years, people with mental health problems are experiencing less stigma and discrimination, are feeling more empowered and are enjoying more social contact. One group in society appears [...]
Bogus or not, bullying claims are costly
Fine line: Proper training can help businesses prevent workplace bullying claims. Photo: Andrew Quilty A DRAMATIC increase in the number of workplace bullying allegations has placed huge pressure on small businesses forced to defend many frivolous claims. Mental health experts say the byproduct of increased reporting has been a surge in bogus claims levelled against [...]
New Partnership to Tackle Mental Health in the Workplace
Mental health Not for Profit, beyondblue has formed a partnership with the Australian Workers Union (AWU) to tackle depression and anxiety in the workplace. The partnership is being officially launched at the AWU national conference on the Gold Coast today. AWU national secretary Paul Howes said that work-related mental illnesses imposed huge costs on both [...]
Executives dismissing staff mental health issues
Time to get more serious … Jack Heath. Photo: Sean Davey TOP-TIER executives are ignoring or denying the mental illness of their staff, the head of Australia’s biggest mental health charity says. Mental illness costs the economy more than $6.5 billion every year, but the executive director of SANE Australia, Jack Heath, said too many [...]
Cyber-bullying complaints over social media attacks on public servants
ANGRY taxpayers, welfare recipients and warring parents are using social media to vent their rage at public servants, triggering 1685 cyber-bullying complaints by federal bureaucrats. And one-in-six federal public servants claimed to have been harrassed or bullied in one form or another in the past 12 months, data from the Australian Public Service Commission reveals. [...]
Most people feeling ‘back-to-work blues’
Illustration: Cathy Wilcox If you, like many, are returning from holidays this week it might be with a resigned sigh rather than a spring in your step and excitement at the year to come. The “back-to-work blues”, while not a formal syndrome, are commonplace, with workplace stress a significant source of anxiety and depression in [...]
