BRISBANE, Australia, Sep 11, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Addressing employee
mental health can increase productivity in the workplace, researchers in
Australia said.
The study of more than 60,000 employees, published in the Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found employees without symptoms of
mental health problems -- having low scores on a psychological distress scale --
were the most productive workers. However, effective treatment of employees with
mental health problems eventually led to productivity improving to near-normal
levels after a period of low productivity during treatment.
"Addressing employee mental health increases employee productivity in the
workplace with the potential for a positive return-on-investment from an
employer's perspective," Dr. Michael F.Hilton, the study leader, and colleagues
at The University of Queensland, Australia, wrote in a statement.
The researchers said productivity was near-normal for some workers who had
mental health problems -- scoring high on the distress scale -- but were not
receiving treatment. The researchers suggest distressed workers may have been
compensating in other ways such as working harder or longer.
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