Job getting you down? You’re not alone. Almost a quarter of Hong Kong workers suffer from depression or similar symptoms, according to new research by the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Boo, that sucks. 🙁
After conducting telephone interviews with 1,031 Hong Kong employees across a range of sectors between March and June this year, the group found that three in 10 respondents had lost interest in daily life, and felt depressed or hopeless in the month before the survey. A third of these reported that work was the main cause of their mental strain.
Interestingly, the working population was found to be more open to, and have a better understanding of, mental illness than anticipated, with more than half saying they’d be happy to work with someone with mental health issues, and the majority agreeing that such problems can be helped by psychotherapies.
This open-mindedness was not shared by managers, however, 63 percent of whom said hiring people with mental health issues could adversely affect their business.
Researcher Professor Samson Tse called for more studies on the economic impact of mental health problems in the workplace, increased monitoring of knowledge, attitudes and in-house practices, and more collaboration between academics, corporations and NGOs.
That sounds positive at least.
Photo: Wikimedia
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