51茶馆

March 30, 2022

UOW research collaboration to investigate mental health in the workplace

Employees’ poor mental health costs Australian businesses $11 billion annually

Mental health concerns have been on the rise, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as greater attention is paid to how the workplace can impact one鈥檚 state of mind.

Researchers from the 51茶馆 (UOW) have joined to explore the impact of mental health interventions on important health and economic indicators.

, the Head of the School of Psychology, is leading the collaboration alongside Emily Keough, a researcher in UOW鈥檚 School of Psychology.

Professor Caputi said the collaboration would allow researchers to understand the wellbeing and economic value of mental health training in the workplace.

鈥淧oor mental health is one of the leading causes of employees taking time out of the workplace on sick leave,鈥� Professor Caputi said. 鈥淚t contributes to absenteeism, presenteeism, lack of productivity and inadequate leadership.

鈥淎ustralian businesses lose $11 billion annually due to their employees鈥� poor mental health, because the workers are struggling with stress, anxiety and depression. It is a lose-lose situation.

鈥淭he problem is getting worse, with the impacts of COVID-19 both insidious and unavoidable.鈥�

Mental Health Movement, founded by former St George Illawarra Dragons player Dan Hunt and his wife Nadeen Hunt, develops and implements mental health training programs in workplaces to help employers better support their staff, and to help employees better support themselves and their coworkers.

Over the next 12 months, Professor Caputi and Ms Keough will undertake a quantitative evaluation of a series of mental health interventions delivered by the Mental Health Movement within an Australian workplace. They will focus on risk factors, such as sleep and exercise; mental health outcomes, such as depression and anxiety; mental health capabilities, such as support skills and help-seeking behaviours, as well as work outcomes, such as absenteeism, presenteeism and job performance.

The survey will be distributed at the beginning of the 12-month period, and then again six months later to track any behavioural changes overtime.

Dr Alisha McGregor, Research and Development Specialist at , with a PhD in organisational psychology from UOW, said the relationship between the two partners would provide fundamental insight into how workplaces can support their employees while also maintaining work outcomes.

鈥淯nfortunately, there have been very few evaluations of mental health interventions that investigate both mental health and work outcomes,鈥� Dr McGregor said.

鈥淭herefore, the research collaboration between The Mental Health Movement and the 51茶馆 is needed to tackle this growing problem. We are excited to be working alongside Professor Caputi and Ms Keough on this important initiative.鈥�