WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH
THE BUSINESS CASE - MONITORING MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE
The statistics are clear - the link between mental health and productivity is undeniable. Mentally healthy workplaces are as important to employees as physically safe workplaces, however many workplaces are not meeting their expectations.
DID YOU KNOW?
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1 in 5 people experience mental ill-health in any given year
In 2016 a survey found that 75% of Australians admitted that stress in their lives adversely affected their physical health, while 64% said it affected their mental health
65% of people with a mental illness do not access treatment
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Mental health is the leading cause of death for men under 50
48% of people who have taken time off due to mental illness did not disclose the reason to anybody in their workplace
69% of people are not comfortable disclosing a mental illness to their employer
WHAT IS IT COSTING YOUR BUSINESS?
Mental Health costs the Australian economy almost $70 billion per annum including $11 billion dollars per annum for Australian businesses, due to:
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Lost productivity
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Absenteeism
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Staff turnover
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Compensation claims
The cost of workforce mental health to the Australian economy is almost $70 billion dollars annually. If an employee leaves work due to mental health issues the cost to the Australian government and society in general increases significantly. To date, there has been no method for effective early intervention. Until now…
THE LINK
between mental health
and productivity
WHAT D|CIFA CAN OFFER...
Using the latest technology combined with scientifically proven research, D|CIFA has developed a digital tool that can track the mental health of a workplace in virtual time. THIS IS A COMPLETE GAME CHANGER IN REGARDS TO MENTAL HEALTH REFORM.
Some of the big picture benefits to employers, employees and the overall Australian economy include :
The ability of the organisation to monitor the overall collective mental health of their workforce
Investing in early intervention of the mental health of a workforce can result in a return of
investment of up to $15 for every dollar spent
Limiting lost productivity to an organisation due to mental health issues – even slight changes in the mental health of an employee can result in up to 9.2% of lost productivity.
Reduced incident occurrence
The ability of employees to monitor their own mental health
Increased awareness of mental health amongst employees
Resources in hand to assist employees who notice their mental health starting to slip or are already struggling
Reduced absenteeism and staff turnover
THE D|CIFA TOOL
D|CIFA has developed the means for employers to implement their Occupational Health and Safety legal obligations in regards to mental health, efficiently and effectively.
This tool has built-in features benefiting the organisation, including but not limited to:
Verifiable data of the mental health of an organisation, including changes over time, supported by ongoing reporting prepared by a registered psychologist
Reporting on the likelihood of workforce sickness over a two-year period
Employees have direct access to support material
Collectivised and anonymised data collection resulting in greater engagement and therefore reliability
Assessing the direct impact of the organisation on the mental health of the workforce
Additionally, an organisational Employee Assistance Program can be built-in
One of the critical benefits is increased awareness and subsequent positive and proactive action to improving and maintaining mental health, at a personal and organisational level.
SO WHAT IS IT?
We call it OTTER. Otter is a purpose-built data collection mobile phone app built for both iOS and Android devices that lets you check in on how your team is going while allowing them to maintain their privacy.
Otter has been designed to be able to house your own employee support material, ie Employee assistance programs and your own tailor-made mental health resources specific to your workplace, location or industry. If your organisation has multiple sites the app can track that and provide different support material if appropriate.
Alternatively, your organisation can utilise our purpose-built support material that has been developed by psychologists who are leaders in their field of expertise.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Once your organisation signs up and your employees are granted access, the app will be available for your employees to download via Google Play (Android) or the App Store (iOS).
Each week employees will be notified that Otter would like to check in with them, a process that is very time efficient. Otter then provides instant feedback to employees of their ongoing mental health, allowing them the ability to monitor their own mental health and self-initiate mental health intervention.
At agreed-to reporting periods, the team at D|CIFA will provide your organisation with data revealing the mental health of your organisation as a whole, by department or location as desired. This means the organisation can track trends and adjust practices, allowing for organisational wide, or departmental, early intervention. It also means that organisations can
have ongoing mental health data on which to base their decisions and track the effectiveness of those decisions.
The process guarantees your employees anonymity as well as confidentiality. This is essential to ensure employees are comfortable with the process and will result in a higher take-up rate.