Emotions of depression and nervousness are highly correlated with how secure a respondent felt at the job, based on the Nationwide Security Council’ s (NSC) new Workforce Developments Indicator Survey.
Respondents who felt unsafe at the job were nearly 3 x more prone to report furthermore experiencing depressive signs and symptoms within days gone by two weeks in comparison to those that felt safe at the job. Furthermore, respondents who felt unsafe at the job were more than doubly likely to also review feeling symptoms of stress compared to those that felt safe at the job.
People with the highest degree of concern because of their safety at the job were the most more likely to survey feeling depressed or anxious often enough to meet among the criteria for scientific diagnosis of mental disease. NSC found 40% of individuals who reported feeling “quite” unsafe at the job reported having outward indications of depression all or many days, while only 1% of individuals who felt very secure at the job reported exactly the same. Similarly, 25% of individuals who reported feeling “really” unsafe at the job also reported having outward indications of panic all or most times, compared to much less than 2% of individuals who felt very secure at work.
“To be safe, one must feel safe. Feeling unsafe at work is hurting people, and more must be done to combat this in a holistic way,” said John Dony, vice president of thought leadership at the National Safety Council. “Employers everywhere must accept responsibility for their impact on workers on and off the clock by implementing safety policies and procedures that protect the whole person, which includes both plus mentally physically.”
Addressing mental health in the workplace requires the whole organization, including leadership, human resources, managers and supervisors, safety professionals, and employees themselves. NSC encourages business leaders to take action to support their workers by prioritizing mental health while using NSC materials , consulting services and additional resources that discuss mental health, stress reduction and substance misuse.
NSC continues its research and development of tools and resources that address psychological safety and how it connects to physical safety in the workplace. Review the Campbell Institute’s literature review which includes practical strategies organizations can take to enhance their efforts around psychological safety.
The NSC Workforce Trends Indicator Survey included questions about work environment and industry, emotions of safety at the job in regarding and common Covid-19 risk, as well as emotions of anxiety and depression.
