Cape Town - Have you become increasingly irritable, unable to concentrate, tired, and enjoying your work less while feeling less committed to it?
That could be stress, and if left unattended or untreated it could result in mental health problems such as depression or anxiety.
And according to Cape Mental Health, work-related stress was a major driver of mental health problems - not only resulting in employee ill health, but excessive stress could also lead to substance abuse and suicide.
As part of Cape Mental Health’s drive to create awareness about Psychiatric Disability Awareness Month - being held this month - the organisation will be engaging with businesses to discuss mental health in the workplace, and tips on reducing work-related stress and empowering employees.
Chanelle Albertyn, spokesperson for Cape Mental Health, said research showed that South Africa had one of the highest stress rates in the world.
A new study by Bloomberg showed that South Africa was the second most-stressed nation in the world while another similar study showed that more than half of South Africans were not taking their annual leave due to work pressures - resulting in increased stress and burnout.
Albertyn said while mental illness was a reality for many (at least 30 percent of the population), the stigma linked to this illness meant that many sufferers were too embarrassed to discuss their mental health with colleagues and employers.
“In South Africa mental health is still very stigmatised. People experiencing mental health problems often face discrimination and abuse in the workplace, either from their colleagues or from management. Often these employees are too scared to talk about their stress or mental illness for the fear that they will be labelled as failures and not be recognised as competent enough. This even affects their chances of being promoted,” she said.
One of the things that drove work-related stress was expectation created in the workplace, especially the so-called “high pressured and fast paced” environments where employees were sometimes expected to deliver even when their knowledge didn’t meet their abilities.
“Workplaces are supposed to be places that improve your mental health, but often they are a source of stress. Often when the pressure in the workplace becomes excessive and unmanageable it leads to stress, and stress can damage one’s health and affect employees’ work performance,” she said.
Albertyn said the awareness campaign was meant to prioritise mental health in the workplace, and for it to be included in companies’ wellness programmes. Improved mental state not only results in happy and satisfied employees, but a less stressful environment resulted in productive workforce and better outputs.
Dr Dominique Stott, medical head of Professional Provident Society - a financial services company - said huge responsibilities faced by professionals in the workplace were the common cause of stress - resulting in some becoming suicidal.
“In today’s society people are often pressured by family members and counterparts to live better, work harder and earn more money. This type of pressure might set a person up for failure should they not be able to cope with the demands of a pressured and fast-paced lifestyle,” she said.
But, it was not gloom and doom. Stott said in the majority of cases stressed employees required a short time off work for medication and counselling to resolve mental health. Support also played a big role to avoid devastating events such as drug abuse.
“The family must also ensure that a patient avoids turning to alcohol or other substance abuse,” Stott said.
Cape Argus