Work and Mental Health
An Employers' Guide

This book draws on the expertise of a wide range of health professionals with practical experience of mental health in the workplace.

Doreen M. Miller (Author), Maurice Lipsedge (Author), Paul Litchfield (Author)

9781901242850, Royal College of Psychiatrists

Paperback / softback, published 1 October 2002

176 pages
23.4 x 15.7 x 1.1 cm, 0.33 kg

Work-related mental ill health, or 'stress' in the common shorthand, is the major health and safety issue for most employers in the Western world. In the UK alone more than 6.5 million working days are lost each year at a cost to companies of almost £400 million. Forward-looking organisations have been seeking not just to control these costs but to establish working systems that positively enhance mental health. This book draws on the expertise of a wide range of health professionals with practical experience of mental health in the workplace. Both clinical problems and organisational issues are addressed and many practical examples are given of what can be done in an occupational setting to benefit individuals and the companies they work for. This is a text written by practitioners not just for fellow practitioners but also for human resources and management professionals and a wide range of colleagues in business who are trying to grapple with this 21st-century 'epidemic'.

List of tables, boxes and figures
List of contributors
Preface
Introduction Paul Litchfield
Acknowledgement
1. Management of change: the Glaxo Pharmaceuticals case study Bill Proudlock
2. Legal aspects of mental health in the workplace Denis D'Auria, Gillian Howard and Peter Verow
3. Risk management approach to mental health: the London Electricity case study Anne Margaret Samuel
4. Mental well-being in the workplace: building the business case Noeleen Doherty
5. Developing a mental health policy: an outline Ann Fingret
6. Individual and organisational stress Marian Roden and Stephen Williams
7. A team approach to managing mental health at work: the AstraZeneca case study Richard Heron
8. Managing pressure: the Marks and Spencer case study Noel McElearney
9. Supporting mental well-being through the promotion of a balanced lifestyle Marian Roden
10. Assessing mental health problems in the workplace Matthew Hotopf and Janet Carruthers
11. Anxiety, depression, suicide risk, bullying and occupational health interventions Maurice Lipsedge and Anne Margaret Samuel
12. Substance misuse/addiction: alcohol Paul Gwinner and David Moore
13. Substance misuse/addiction: drugs C. C. H. Cook and Graham Bell
14. Anorexia and bulimia J. H. Lacey and N. A. Mitchell-Heggs
15. The effects of travel on mental well-being: fear of flying and other psychiatric disorders Su Wang and Lawrence Burns
16. Critical incidents and violence at work Ian Palmer and Charles Baron
17. Chronic fatigue syndrome Michael Sharpe and Derek White
18. Schizophrenia and delusional disorders Trevor Turner and Paul Litchfield
19. Organic states Chris Ball and Alan Scott
20. Personality disorders in the workplace Alison Martin, Maurice Lipsedge and James Watson
21. The role of mental health professionals Steve McKeown and Susan Robson
22. The role of the liaison psychiatrist Andrew Hodgkiss and David Snashall
Index.

Subject Areas: Psychiatry [MMH]