Clinical Key Question Flashcards
What is the clinical psychology key question?
What are issues surrounding mental health in the workplace?
How many people reported work-related stress in the UK?
in 2016, 480,000 people in the UK reported that work-related stress were making them ill (HEalth and Safety Executive)
nearly 40% of all work related illnesses
What factors may cause stress in the workplace?
HSE identified 6 causes of work related stress
- Demands of the job (workload + enjoyment)
- control over work (how much say workers have over how and when they do their work)
- support (sickenss absences, etc.)
- relationships at work (including workplace bullying)
- role within the organisation (workers need to know what is expected of them
- change (stress is increased by uncertainty
Why might someone be refused promotion/ demoted or fired from a job if they have a mental health illness
due to societal stigma around mental health issues and ‘labelling’
work stigma + support from Rosenhan
Rosenhan (1974) - sent pseudopatients to mental hospitals, they were released with the label ‘schizophrenia in remission’
despite them being sane, they were still released with the label that they are schizophrenic.
‘sticky labels’ - e.g. if someone has depression, their sticky label may restrict them from getting promotions as the stereotypes often associated with depression are unmotivated and sad
how may the work environment (physical environment) cause mental health issues in individuals
workers may develop mental health issues such as sick building syndrome (SBS)
what is sick building syndrome (SBS)
a set of symptoms linked to working in an unhealthy environment
these symptoms include: headaches, blocked or runny nose, dry itchy skin, dry sore eyes, rashes, tiredness and difficulty controlling
what factors may cause SBS symptoms
Swedish studies:
modern buildings with air conditioning symptoms expoed workers to chemicals
Azuma et al. (2014):
excessive workload is associated with headache, fatigue and nausea
crowded workspaces and low work satisfaction are associated with breathing problems, coughs and sore throats
studies on computer screens causing mental health issues in the workplace
Nakazawa et al. (2002)
involved 25,000 people over a 3 year period, concluded that too much screen time is damaging the mental health of employees
What are examples of workplace bullying
makes someone feel imitated or offended
- spreading malicious rumors
- unfair treatment
- picking on someone or regularly undermining them
- denying opportunities for training or promotion
statistics on workplace bullying in the UK
29% have been victims of workplace bullying
that’s nearly 3/10 workers or 9.1 million of the UK workforce
Acas hotline claims that they recieve 20,000 phone calls every year in relation to bullying
how may bullying cause mental health issues in the workplace
bullying in the workplace may create a hostile environment where workers or victims may feel marginalised, etc. this can also severely impact the mood of workers
statistics on the amount of UK buisnesses trying to promote wellbeing in the workplace
in 2017, nearly half (48%) of UK buisnesses offered something to promote wellbeing in the workplace
what are some things UK buisnesses offered to promote wellbeing in the workplace
stress management seminars, mindfulness classes, standing desks, encouraging physical exercises, office garden, exteded leave programmes, exchange programmes
