A campaign to raise awareness of depression in the workplace was launched earlier this month as it was revealed that more than a quarter of Irish workers have experienced depression, writes Leah McDonald

The Mind Yourself at Workcampaign, developed by the Health and Safety Authority and the Occupational Health Nurses Association of Ireland, was launched after research revealed that more than 28 per cent of workers have suffered from depression.

The campaign, which will involve the distribution of a free information pack to employees and employers, aims to encourage people to recognise the symptoms and to seek help where they find themselves suffering from depression in the workplace.

Although the workers surveyed felt that employers would be sympathetic if their employees had a physical illness, more than 50 per cent did not think that employers would be tolerant of an employee suffering from depression.

Many employees were also afraid of talking of their depression because they were afraid it might affect their job security.

Only 11 per cent of those surveyed, who have personally experienced depression, thought that employers would be supportive and understanding if they learned an employee was suffering from a mental health problem.

Accordingly, the research found that depression was the most common problem for employees which, if overlooked by employers, could lead to poor worker productivity, high rates of sick leave, withdrawal from co-workers and a high rate of staff turnover.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Harry Barry, author of Flagging the Problem: an Approach to Mental Health said: "Positive mental health is a prerequisite in the modern workplace. In order to achieve this, employers must be aware of and sympathetic to employees who suffer from depression.

"By identifying the problem, you will be taking the first step in your treatment for it. The knowledge that an employer is understanding and supportive during any illness would help with the recovery process by putting the employees mind at ease in terms of their job security," he says.

The campaign also highlights the impact of stress in the workplace, which is on the increase and is one of the main contributory factors to depression.

In assessing the level of stress experienced by Irish workers, researchers found that workers in urban areas were more likely to encounter work-related stress.

Of the 31 per cent who claimed to experience stress, nearly half were workers based in Dublin, compared to just a quarter in the rest of the State.

This increase in work-related stress in the past year has been largely due to a lack of job security in many sectors and "presenteeism", a term which refers to employees working longer than normal hours unnecessarily and working when ill.

According to Patricia Murray, work and organisational psychologist with the Health and Safety Authority, where depression within the workplace is revealed, employers should be sympathetic but equally they should ensure that workforce efficiency and productivity are not adversely affected.

"Employers tend to rely on informal systems around mental health issues which do need to be formalised," she says.

"They must ensure that employees are not damaged from work but do not have to bend over backwards to the detriment of their other employees' well-being.

"Where there is a problem employers should act with decency and tolerance," she says.

"At the same time though, most workers are well-paid and should be mentally able for their jobs."

The Health and Safety Authority is running a series of seminars on dealing with conflict in the workplace nationwide.

A copy of Mind Yourself at Workis available to organisations by calling (01) 468 9800.