Over a 10-year period, mental health claims by Australian workers aged between 30 and 40 have increased by more than 730 per cent, new data has revealed. Payments for mental health claims now make up almost a third of all permanent disability claims. The University of Sydney and the Black Dog Institute are conducting research to investigate trends in how people perceive work stressors.
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:00Jamie suffered a major psychological response after being bullied on a construction site
00:07two years ago. He was diagnosed with an ongoing mental disorder which has forced him out of
00:14work. I'm no longer a painter and decorator in the construction industry. I'm a 40 plus
00:20year old disabled pensioner which, yeah, sucks to say. There's been a sharp rise in the number
00:26of young Australians experiencing similar outcomes. The research is showing that we
00:32have an exponential rise in the number of people who are leaving the workforce for good because of
00:38their mental health. The biggest increase in mental health claims is in the 30 to 40 year age
00:43group, up 730%. Payments for mental health claims now make up almost a third of all permanent
00:52disability claims. The reasons behind the sharp rise in claims are complex and not well understood.
00:58There is a greater awareness of mental health conditions and more workers are reporting
01:04symptoms, especially younger workers who make up a greater proportion of the workforce. What we've
01:10shown is that the most recent cohort of workers, young people, not only do they have more mental
01:16health problems but at any given level of work stress that affects their mental health more, i.e.
01:24they are less resilient to work stress than they used to be. The rise coincides with an increase
01:30in support services. So there's a lot more awareness, there's a lot more push to help
01:35seeking, there's a lot more training of managers, mental health first aid, R U OK? Help available
01:42but at times too late. Bronwyn Herbert, ABC News.