One out of four people have mental health problems at some point in the UK. The severity of mental health problems varies from disease to disease and person to person. The most common problems are depression and anxiety, which can be mild, short-term, and are normally quickly treated. However, in many cases, they can prolong for years have a major impact on your daily life routine.
It is all about how we behave, think, and feel. In most cases, mental health problems occur due to traumatic or difficult life events that one goes through. Moreover, some people relate it to their work issues. Stress at work is the most common cause of mental health problems in employees. Work-related stress can be short-term and long-term. In either case, it can have a physical as well as a psychological effect on the person in the form of anxiety and depression. The stress at work can also trigger pre-existing mental problems, worsening their symptoms in most cases.
Employees can either have mental health problems before recruitment or may develop them over time due to issues at work. In either case, it is something that shouldn’t be neglected by the company or employer.
Employers are legally bound to take the responsibility of helping employees. Whether employees have mental health issues due to work or if work is triggering symptoms of already existing problems, the employer needs to step up and implement steps to counter or reduce the effect as much as possible.
How mental health issues and work-related stress go together
Mental health problems in employees and stress at work often complement each other. The symptoms occurring from both are quite similar in most cases.
As mentioned above, stress at work can trigger pre-existing mental health problems. It becomes more difficult for the person to control the effects of the problem. Consequently, they both start complementing each other, and both of them make it a hassle to get out of each other.
It is very common for mental health issues and work-related stress to existing autonomously. People are known to experience physical changes such as headaches and high blood pressure without any psychological problems. Similarly, anxiety and depression can exist without stress. The only difference lies in the roots of their birth.
Work-related stress is usually associated with bad experiences or incidents in life that are related to home, work, or sometimes both. Furthermore, the most common mental health problems can be rooted from causes unrelated to work. These causes can be a bad family history of divorce, etc. Sometimes there are no causes for any of these to exist. If you are an employer, it becomes your responsibility to make the work environment as pleasing as possible for the employees so that they are least stressed.
In conclusion
The relationship between work-related stress and the mental health of employees is directly proportional. The intensity of the impact can vary from person to person. However, it is always better to have a stress free working environment for better mental health. It is what employers should aim to achieve for the employees.