Combat depression and save money with a "moodometer" and resilience programs

02 April 2009 8:51am

Employers should consider introducing a "moodometer" and resilience programs in an effort to combat employee depression - which is costing Australian business billions of dollars each year, according to best-selling author of Back from the Brink and depression sufferer Graeme Cowan.

Absenteeism and "presenteeism" cost the Australian economy an estimated $7 billion and $25 billion a year respectively, Cowan told delegates at a Directioneering breakfast in Sydney yesterday.

"By far the largest contributor to that," he says, "is depression."

Depression is, he adds, referring to World Health Organisation research, the "most disabling illness" in the western world.

Yet despite the ubiquity of depression Cowan does not believe that employers should develop a "blanket" strategy to deal with the problem.

They should commit to integrating strategies with other health and wellbeing programs and enlisting the support of managers, he says, in an effort to create a workplace culture where the focus is on the cure - as opposed to the problem - and in which seeking help is normalised.

"I would introduce the concept of the 'moodometer'," Cowan says.

The moodometer is a simple zero-to-10 scale that compels workers to think about their mental health and act when necessary. A worker who is "thriving" scores a 10, he says. A person who is displaying some symptoms of depression, such as sleep loss, might give themselves a five. A person who feels they have lost all hope gets a zero.

A worker with a score between zero and five is placed in the "red zone", Cowan says, and needs to seriously consider seeking psychological counselling.

Building resilience

"Everyone has the potential to slide down the mood scale," Cowan says. They need to "build resilience" so they don't stay down there too long.

Many employees are reluctant to discuss mental health issues with their leaders, he says, but employers can help their workers build resilience through encouraging "conscious actions and a change of mindset".

Cowan says that there are five core principles "crucial to mindset". These are:

stepping back when something blocks your goals to carefully consider your options, as opposed to impetuously pushing through the pain barrier;

experiencing the now rather than incessantly worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. "Problems don't exist in the now";

reaching out to other people. "Those supported by others have a greater momentum and ability to move forward";

valuing the day-to-day things or events in your life; and

being enthused.

Employees should also be encouraged to exercise, and regularly allocated rewarding tasks, Cowan says.

"Fulfilling work is really important to people's mental health."

Mental health a line-management issue

Also speaking at the breakfast were Black Dog Institute executive director Professor Gordon Parker, and former leader of the NSW Opposition, John Brogden.

According to Parker, it is "inappropriate" for HR to be held responsible for the mental health of employees.

HR is there primarily for legal reasons, or to "take an authoritarian role", Parker says, and referring a worker with depressive symptoms to HR is like marching a school student to the principal.

Line managers, he says, should take responsibility for mental health issues among their staff.

Awareness critical

"Managers and employees have to treat mental illness as seriously as they would treat physical injury," says Brogden, who has also battled depression.

"People have to take responsibility for their illness," he says. "They have to get off their backside."

However, Brogden notes that workplace awareness is critical.

Employees have to be aware that they have a problem, he says, before they can do something about it.

What to look for

According to Cowen, symptoms of depression include a lack of sleep, a feeling of isolation, a reluctance to be social and a drop in productivity.

Workers should be concerned for colleagues who have lost their usual sense of humour, have become socially withdrawn, who stare into space, and are increasingly absent.

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