Socio-demographic and work setting correlates of poor mental health in a population sample of working Victorians: application in evidence-based intervention priority setting

Work & life stress experienced by professional workers during the pandemic: a gender-based analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted work and home life exacerbating pre-existing stressors and introducing new ones. These impacts were notably gendered. In this paper, we explore the different work and home life related stressors of professional workers specifically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic through the gender-based analysis of two pan Canadian surveys: The Canadian Community Health Survey (2019, 2020, 2021) and the Healthy Professional Worker Survey (2021). Analyses revealed high rates of work stress among professional workers compared to other workers and this was particularly notable for women. Work overload emerged as the most frequently selected source of work stress, followed by digital stress, poor work relations, and uncertainty. Similar trends were noted in life stress among professional workers, particularly women. Time pressure consistently stood out as the primary source of non-work stress, caring for children and physical and mental health conditions. These findings can help to develop more targeted and appropriate workplace mental health promotion initiatives that are applicable to professional workers taking gender more fully into consideration.

Industry differences in psychological distress and distress-related productivity loss: A cross-sectional study of Australian workers

OBJECTIVE

This research uses Australian survey data to identify industries with high rates of psychological distress, and to estimate productivity impacts in the form of work loss and cutback days.

METHODS

Analyzing cross-sectional data from the 2017/2018 National Health Survey, industry prevalence of psychological distress (Kessler Screening Scale) was compared using ordered logistic regression. Productivity outcomes were distress-related work loss days and work cutback days in the previous 4 weeks. Losses were analyzed using zero-inflated negative binomial regression.

RESULTS

The sample consisted of 9073 employed workers [4497 males (49.6%), 4576 females (50.4%)]. Compared to the reference industry, Health, the odds of very high distress for males were highest in Information media and telecommunications (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.2-4.6) and Administrative and support services (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.2-5.0), while for females the odds were highest in Accommodation and food services (OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.5-2.8) followed by Retail (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.2-2.0). Very high distress was associated excess productivity losses. Industry of occupation did not impact on productivity loss over and above distress.

CONCLUSIONS

Substantial psychological distress was reported which impacted on productivity. High-risk industries included Information media and telecommunications, Accommodation and food services, and Retail.

Depression literacy and help-seeking in Australian police

OBJECTIVE

To assess depression literacy, help-seeking and help-offering to others in members of the police force in the state of Victoria, Australia.

METHODS

All staff in police stations involved in a cluster randomised controlled trial of an integrated workplace mental health intervention were invited to participate. Survey questions covered sociodemographic and employment information, recognition of depression in a vignette, stigma, treatment beliefs, willingness to assist co-workers with mental health problems, help-giving and help-seeking behaviours, and intentions to seek help. Using the baseline dataset associated with the trial, the paper presents a descriptive analysis of mental health literacy and helping behaviours, comparing police station leaders and lower ranks.

RESULTS

Respondents were 806 staff, comprising 618 lower-ranked staff and 188 leaders. Almost 84% of respondents were able to correctly label the problem described in the vignette. Among those who had helped someone with a mental health problem, both lower ranks and leaders most commonly reported 'talking to the person' although leaders were more likely to facilitate professional help. Leaders' willingness to assist the person and confidence in doing so was very high, and over 80% of leaders appropriately rated police psychologists, general practitioners, psychologists, talking to a peer and contacting welfare as helpful. However, among both leaders and lower ranks with mental health problems, the proportion of those unlikely to seek professional help was greater than those who were likely to seek it.

CONCLUSION

Knowledge about evidence-based interventions for depression was lower in this police sample than surveys in the general population, pointing to the need for education and training to improve mental health literacy. Such education should also aim to overcome barriers to professional help-seeking. Interventions that aim to improve mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviour appear to be suitable targets for better protecting police member mental health.

Workplace suicide prevention: a systematic review of published and unpublished activities

There are a number of published studies on workplace suicide prevention activities, and an even larger number of activities that are not reported on in academic literature. The aim of this review was to provide a systematic assessment of workplace suicide prevention activities, including short-term training activities, as well as suicide prevention strategies designed for occupational groups at risk of suicide. The search was based on Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) Guidelines. The databases used for the searches were the Cochrane Trials Library and PubMed. A range of suicide prevention websites were also searched to ascertain the information on unpublished workplace suicide prevention activities. Key characteristics of retrieved studies were extracted and explained, including whether activities were short-term training programmes or developed specifically for occupations at risk of suicide. There were 13 interventions relevant for the review after exclusions. There were a few examples of prevention activities developed for at-risk occupations (e.g. police, army, air force and the construction industry) as well as a number of general awareness programmes that could be applied across different settings. Very few workplace suicide prevention initiatives had been evaluated. Results from those that had been evaluated suggest that prevention initiatives had beneficial effects. Suicide prevention has the potential to be integrated into existing workplace mental health activities. There is a need for further studies to develop, implement and evaluate workplace suicide prevention programmes.

Workplace mental health: developing an integrated intervention approach

BACKGROUND

Mental health problems are prevalent and costly in working populations. Workplace interventions to address common mental health problems have evolved relatively independently along three main threads or disciplinary traditions: medicine, public health, and psychology. In this Debate piece, we argue that these three threads need to be integrated to optimise the prevention of mental health problems in working populations.

DISCUSSION

To realise the greatest population mental health benefits, workplace mental health intervention needs to comprehensively 1) protect mental health by reducing work-related risk factors for mental health problems; 2) promote mental health by developing the positive aspects of work as well as worker strengths and positive capacities; and 3) address mental health problems among working people regardless of cause. We outline the evidence supporting such an integrated intervention approach and consider the research agenda and policy developments needed to move towards this goal, and propose the notion of integrated workplace mental health literacy.

SUMMARY

An integrated approach to workplace mental health combines the strengths of medicine, public health, and psychology, and has the potential to optimise both the prevention and management of mental health problems in the workplace.

Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress in a large and diverse public sector workforce: baseline results from Partnering Healthy@Work

Background

Depressive and anxiety disorders are common among working adults and costly to employers and individuals. Mental health screening is often an important initial strategy, but the resultant data are often of unknown representativeness and difficult to interpret. In a public sector workforce, this study used a brief screener for depression/anxiety to: a) compare prevalence of high psychological distress obtained from a researcher survey with an employer survey and population norms and b) verify whether expected correlates were observed in a screening setting.

Methods

Participants were public servants working for an Australian state government. High psychological distress (Kessler-10 ≥22) stratified by age and sex was compared for a random weighted sample researcher survey (n = 3406) and an anonymous volunteer employer survey (n = 7715). Prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated from log binomial regression.

Results

Referencing the researcher survey, prevalence of high psychological distress was greater by age and sex in the employer survey but was only dependably higher for men when compared with population norms. Modelling suggested this may be due to work stress (effort-reward imbalance) (PR = 3.19, 95% CI 1.45-7.01) and casual/fixed-term employment (PR 2.64, 95% CI 1.26-5.56).

Conclusions

Depression and anxiety screening using typical employer survey methods could overestimate prevalence but expected correlates are observed in a screening setting. Guidance for employers on screening and interpretation should be provided to encourage engagement with mental health prevention and treatment programs in the workplace.

Suicide by occupation: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous research has shown that those employed in certain occupations, such as doctors and farmers, have an elevated risk of suicide, yet little research has sought to synthesise these findings across working-age populations.

AIMS

To summarise published research in this area through systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHOD

Random effects meta-analyses were used to calculate a pooled risk of suicide across occupational skill-level groups.

RESULTS

Thirty-four studies were included in the meta-analysis. Elementary professions (e.g. labourers and cleaners) were at elevated risk compared with the working-age population (rate ratio (RR) = 1.84, 95% CI 1.46-2.33), followed by machine operators and deck crew (RR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.22-2.60) and agricultural workers (RR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.19-2.28). Results suggested a stepwise gradient in risk, with the lowest skilled occupations being at greater risk of suicide than the highest skill-level group.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first comprehensive meta-analytical review of suicide and occupation. There is a need for future studies to investigate explanations for the observed skill-level differences, particularly in people employed in lower skill-level groups.

Precarious employment, psychosocial working conditions, and health: Cross-sectional associations in a population-based sample of working Australians

BACKGROUND

Precarious employment has been associated with poor health, but the potential mechanisms are unclear. We examined the relationships between precarious employment and health, and investigated psychosocial working conditions as potential mediators.

METHODS

A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted in South Australia in 2009 (N = 1,016 employed). SF-12 measures of mental and physical health were modeled using logistic regression in relation to employment arrangement, controlling for socio-demographics, years in job and psychosocial working conditions.

RESULTS

There was no association between casual full-time or part-time employment and poor mental health in multivariate analyses. Conversely, there was a significant association between casual full-time employment and poor physical health (compared to permanent full-time workers, OR = 3.14, 95% CI 1.26-7.85). The association with physical health was unaffected by adjustment for psychosocial working conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Casual full-time employment was strongly associated with poor physical health but not with poor mental health. This association was not mediated by the psychosocial working conditions measured in this study, but may be related to other (unmeasured) working conditions.