World Mental Health Day 2024
Mental Health, Digitalization, and Occupational Health
We asked our summer intern, Yiying, a recent graduate from Imperial’s Masters of Public Health programme (MPH), to write a blog for World Mental Health Day 2024. Yiying has a keen interest in the interdisciplinary integration of AI and mental health, and the digitalisation of healthcare. During her interdisciplinary practice, she used new media and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in AI to create digital health platforms to raise public awareness of mental health and assist in mental health interventions. Yiying also drew on the presentation on ‘AI in healthcare’ that she attended as part of the annual trip the Imperial WHOCC led for MPH students to visit the WHO headquarters in 2024.
This year for World Mental Health Day 2024, with the theme of ‘Mental Health at Work’, we will focus on workplace stress and what tools we have to address it as public healthcare professionals. We will look at the benefits and challenges offered by rapidly growing technology and how that impacts on our and our communities’ mental health.
“No one should be exposed, excluded, forgotten, overwhelmed, unheard, unsupported, unsafe……”
Health means not only freedom from disease and illness, but also freedom from violence and discrimination, a healthy environment, decent work and quality health care. Unfortunately, 15% of working-age adults were estimated to have a mental disorder in 2019 [3].
Contributing to poor mental health outcomes are poor working environments – including discrimination and inequality, excessive workloads, low job control and job insecurity [3]. Alongside high stress, a low supportive environment at work is significantly associated with employees’ mental health status [4].
What is more, there is a gender gap in work place stress too, studies on women who were in high-stress jobs or in situations where there was lack of support found they are at greater risk of feelings of mental distress and increased risk of cardiovascular disease [5].
The Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to raise countries’ attention to mental health issues through global collaboration. It sets out clear actions for Member States, the WHO Secretariat and international, regional and national partners to promote mental health and well-being for all, to prevent mental health conditions for those at-risk and to achieve universal coverage for mental health services [12].
The plan includes increasing access to mental health services, raising public awareness of mental health, and within government policy development.
In addition, the WHO advocates for countries to pay more attention to mental health at work and recommends that companies provide more mental health support and service access to employees; such as manager training for mental health, training for workers, interventions for individuals and reasonable accommodations. These policies and programmes will help employees better manage mental health issues, and also support the sustainable development of the global economy.
What strategies can you adopt to promote mental health in the workplace?
Watch:
Prioritizing Mental Health in the Workplace – strategies for success Webinar on PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) TV
Read:
The World Health Organization’s Mental Health at Work fact sheet
AI In Mental Health: Opportunities And Challenges
Nowadays, the development of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies offers new possibilities, both for raising awareness of mental health in the workplace and decreasing its negative psychological effects. It will not only automatically identify mental health risks , but also provide customised recommendations or treatment options on demand.
The NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network also explored the current challenges and opportunities the mental health sector faces in developing and using digital products and services now[13]. This report identifies current activities in national policies and strategies and makes recommendations on how digital mental health efforts can further realise their potential and increase their contribution to mental health care and the mental health of the population[13].
For example, sentiment analysis of natural language processing (NLP) can help with identifying sentiments in text data. Therefore, it can also help detect problems early and prevent long-term mental health distress by analysing employees’ work behaviour and emotional data.
Employee sentiment analysis uses artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to assess and understand the emotions expressed by employees in various forms of communication. This process enables organisations to measure the overall mood of their employees, help solve problems, improve workplace culture, and effectively increase employee satisfaction [8]. Furthermore, it can be tracked effectively through regular surveys, feedback tools, and sentiment analysis software. These methods collect data from employee interactions and feedback, which are then analysed to detect patterns and changes in mood over time.
But decisions need to be based on patients’ self-reported feelings and experiences, not medical test data. It could lead to a more uncertain diagnosis that requires monitoring and follow-up to ensure a more precise outcome for the employees [7].
Having said that, a lot of people may not want their employer tracking their mood, they may see it as an invasion of privacy. Employees, also have the option of personalised private software to maintain their mental health, such as mood tracker software. Some other apps even let you track important health measurements like depression and anxiety levels, sleep, water intake, and many others — each recorded on a vibrant chart, including medication tracking, reminders, and the ability to share your charts with members of your wellness team to follow up with. Mental health apps hold significant potential to assist people affected by various mental health issues at any time they may need it, considering the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones [14].
As opportunities exist, so do challenges…
A World Health Organization report into challenges around using AI in mental health treatment and research recently found that there are still “significant gaps” in our understanding of how AI is applied in mental healthcare, as well as flaws in how existing AI healthcare applications process data, and insufficient evaluation of the risks around bias, as discussed above [7].
According to the World Health Organization, about 1 billion people (more than one in eight adults and adolescents) worldwide suffer from mental disorders[1]. However, many people do not have access to appropriate psychological support. For example, it has been estimated that worldwide only 29% of people with psychosis receive mental health services[1].
Furthermore, there are significant differences between countries. In high income countries the percentage is 70%, but in low-income countries only 12% receive care services[2]. For depression the treatment gap is wide across all countries. Even in high-income countries only about half of people suffering from moderate to severe depression receive mental healthcare[2]. Even within the United Nations, poor mental health leads to reduced productivity and staff absences and turnover, and it affects the ability of the UN to deliver on its mandates[6].
Digital technologies can bring out personalised psychological support to more people in need, where the Internet can expand the scope of psychological resources from the world. However, people with low income, or the elderly, or limited access to technology may have difficulty accessing these services, widening the mental health gap. The technology divide can lead to an unequal distribution of mental health and occupational health services, with better-off groups enjoying better services and lower-income groups marginalised. In addition, while large companies use technology to improve the mental health of their employees, employees in small and medium-sized enterprises and low-skilled positions might not have the same support, leading to occupational health inequalities. Misuse of health data can also lead to bias and unfair treatment, further affecting mental health and career development.
The importance of occupational mental health: World Mental Health Day
Occupational mental distress not only seriously affects individuals, but also affects the whole society. Mental disorders such as anxiety and depression not only affect an individual’s mood and behaviour, but also exacerbate physical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and decreased immune system function [10]. Unaddressed mental disorders in the workplace are particularly acute, contributing to lower productivity, increased absenteeism, and even employee turnover [11].
When mental disorders at work aren’t addressed, stress at work intensifies, forming a negative cycle. In the long-term, high-pressure situations are not only associated with employees being prone to anxiety, but also prone to chronic fatigue, insomnia and even heart disease, which will also affect the productivity of enterprises, and resulting in a negative impact on the entire social economy. It has been estimated that 12 billion productive workdays are lost every year to depression and anxiety alone, at a cost of nearly US$1 trillion all around the world [9].
In addition, the WHO advocates for countries to pay more attention to mental health at work and recommends that companies provide more mental health support and service access to employees; such as manager training for mental health, training for workers, interventions for individuals and reasonable accommodations. These policies and programmes will help employees better manage mental health issues, and also support the sustainable development of the global economy.
Workplace Occupational Health Projects
As part of their bespoke clinical fellowship programme, our current fellows at the Imperial WHOCC did placements in occupational health within the NHS. Inspired by this experience, they initiated a project to develop occupational health services in their home country of Oman. Their aim is to implement occupational healthcare in the primary healthcare system.
The Global Mind Project
With the rapid development of digitalization, mental health in the workplace is facing new challenges and opportunities.
The Mental State of the World in 2023 report, published by the Global Mind Project, is based on data from a survey of 419,175 internet users in 71 countries, revealing the current state and trends in the mental health of internet users around the world.
The report shows the benefits and challenges of utilizing internet access as a tool to measure mental health globally and explores the potential impact of digitalisation on mental health in the workplace.
Digitalisation in Occupational Mental Health
Infographic of the NHS health and wellbeing model 2021. The infographic shows a circular wheel divided into seven different coloured chunks, each representing one of the seven elements of health and wellbeing.(1) Promote personal health and well-being with an emphasis on mental, emotional and physical health and healthy lifestyles. (2) Interpersonal relationships that focus on mutual support and cooperation. (3) Work achievement, highlighting purpose, recognition and life balance. (4) Managers and leaders, detailing responsibilities and emphasising the need for skilled, healthy leadership. (5) The environment, focusing on the importance of a supportive physical workspace. (6) Data insights to measure the effectiveness of organisational support.(7) Professional well-being support, outlining support services and intervention strategies. The definition of each element is arranged around the wheel diagram to clearly show the various components of the model.
Assessment of Occupational Health and Work Environment
This chart shows the many tools and methods used in occupational health assessment, covering aspects ranging from occupational physiology to risk assessment. Through the integration of different assessment tools, such as body posture assessment (OWAS, RULA, REBA), risk analysis methods (fault tree analysis), and work environment factors (such as noise and heat stress assessment), the key factors affecting occupational health are clearly delineated and mapped[15]. This contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the comprehensive measures and approaches needed to protect occupational health.
How can Employee Sentiment Analysis tools be incorporated into the digitalisation in Occupational Mental Health?
Sentiment analysis and artificial intelligence platforms are becoming an approach to improve the mental health of employees. These tools monitor employees’ emotions and stress levels in time, helping companies identify potential mental health issues and implement effective interventions.
In addition, digital health tools can increase employee engagement and satisfaction, employees can also access mental health support at any time; by personalised online counselling services and emotional tracking. It will contribute to an overall healthy environment in the workplace, also improves productivity, and reduces absenteeism or employee turnover. By integrating mental health, digital health, and occupational health, companies can create a healthier work environment that supports the long-term development of employees. These are three of the best rated employee sentiment analysis tools for 2024:
Reflections on Actions and Solutions
By emotional management training and personalised counselling services, companies can help employees better cope with stress at work. Mental health support is not only a need for individual employees, but also one of the key factors in improving overall business productivity.
Employers can also provide flexible working hours or extra time, to effectively reduce employees’ work pressure and help them with a better work-life balance.
Improving the work environment is also an important part of mental health management. Reducing pollution in the work environment, such as noise, air quality. While implementing mental health programmes, enterprises can also actively take measures to improve the working environment and jointly improve the overall health level of employees from both physical and psychological aspects.
“It is Time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace”
Written by: Yiying Liao, Intern
Edited by: Rachel Barker
Reviewed by: Dr David Rawaf & Ela Augustyniak
Reference list
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(2024). 7 Best Employee Sentiment Analysis Tools for Enhanced Analysis. [online] Thrivesparrow.com. Available at: https://www.thrivesparrow.com/blog/employee-sentiment-analysis-tools#section3 [Accessed 3 Oct. 2024].
Chisholm, D., Sweeny, K., Sheehan, P., Rasmussen, B., Smit, F., Cuijpers, P. and Saxena, S. (2016). Scaling-up treatment of depression and anxiety: a global return on investment analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, [online] 3(5), pp.415–424. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(16)30024-4.
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