Mental disorders among today's labor force and preventive measures

In recent years, mental disorders among Japan’s labor force have emerged as a major issue, with statistics showing that nearly 60% of workers experience stress on the job, and approximately one million have developed mood disorders as a result. Dealing with workers suffering from mental disorders has become a demanding task for employers, and preventive measures are being sought. The Guidelines for Maintaining and Improving Workers’ Mental Health released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) in 2006 calls for four types of mental health care (self-care, care by management and supervisors, care by industrial health staff, etc. placed at offices, and care by external resources), and as primary preventive measures, self-care, care by management and supervisors, and improvement of work environments are being examined. Meanwhile, in providing employees with support for reinstatement after mental health-related absences, pre-reinstatement rehabilitation programs (known in Japan as “rework programs”) are drawing much attention as a means of bridging gaps in perception between mental health care professionals and employers. Moving forward, to implement more effective preventive measures, industrial health specialists, human resources divisions and management must share a common vision for mental disorder countermeasures incorporating the concept of “work engagement,” and supplement and cooperate with one another’s efforts to develop these countermeasures.