Mental health & burnout
Mental illness is common, 2 in 5 Australians have experienced a mental illness at some time in their lives and 1 in 5 of us have had symptoms in the past 12 months. Mental health workers compensation claims are soaring and it is estimated that burnout is responsible for at least 50% of staff turnover.
Having a mental illness is more than feeling a bit sad or anxious, but rather feeling persistently depressed, self doubting and hopeless, or experiencing anxiety that gets in the way of doing things that you enjoy, affecting your sleep and your life.
As more people are talking about their experiences with mental illness, stigma slowly starts to shift which is fantastic, but there is still much to be done.
Burnout, is technically not a medical diagnosis. This is a recognised syndrome of emotional, psychological and physical exhaustion caused by exposure to stress and overwhelm, often related to work life imbalance. There is a significant cross over between experiences of burnout and depression and anxiety and shared risk factors. This is why we’re talking about them both here.
Something that we get excited about is that prevention is as relevant to mental illness and burnout as it is for physical chronic conditions. Both have risk and protective factors or lead indicators, that if identified early can help people to connect in with support and strategies that can make a huge difference. Whether this support is face to face or online, there are lots of resources available to make a difference and to help with both prevention and recovery.
The waves of the Covid-19 pandemic also carried significant stress and uncertainty and were followed by waves of distress. Something positive that this created was increased awareness about the importance of workplace communities in supporting individuals to have balance, practice self care and to stay connected.
The next frontier is prevention and creating mentally healthy workplaces, The first step toward this, is identifying key lead indicators that can inform employers of issues in their workplaces that can be addressed before anyone becomes unwell.
In2health mental health and burnout lead indicators
The confidential In2health assessment identifies level of risk for future mental health issues and burnout, provides a personalised action plan and links to resources, to empower individuals to reduce their future risk.
In larger organisations, In2health also provides fully de-identified, aggregated data on mental health risks and their likely financial impacts. These data driven insights inform targeted strategies to address risks, reduce unnecessary costs and support employees to be their most balanced selves.
Examples of lead indicators we use:
✔ Sleep quality and hygiene measures
✔ Stress measures
✔ Resilience and adaptability measures
✔ Work hours and shift work
✔ Job strain and satisfaction
✔ Decision latitude
✔ Social and work supports
✔ Sleep quality and hygiene measures
✔ Physical health chronic disease risk factors such as exercise habits, alcohol intake and diet
✔ Chronic disease diagnoses
✔ Family history
Are you OK?
Identifying burnout and mental illness
The In2health assessment not only identifies lead indicators but also provides individuals identified to be at moderate or high risk with the opportunity to run through the ‘Are you OK?’ check in.
This confidential, online assessment provides an analysis of current symptoms and links to helpful evidence based options that enable early intervention and/or pathways to recovery.
As health professionals we have a duty to ensure that anyone who needs it is able to access the care that they need to not only survive but thrive.