The prevalence of implementation of mental health measures in companies and its association with sickness absence

Abstract

ObjectiveThe main objective was to determine the prevalence of implementation of mental health measures aimed at the prevention of high workload (workload measures) and the promotion of work engagement (engagement measures) in companies and sectors. Additionally, its associations with sickness absence was explored. Study designCross-sectional survey. MethodsAn internet-based survey among 12,894 company representatives in the Netherlands. Descriptive analyses were performed to determine the prevalence, and differences between sectors were tested using Chi-squared tests. ANOVA was performed to examine the association between companies with or without mental health measures and sickness absence rates. Results32.8% and 21.7% of the companies reported to have implemented ‘continuously or often’ workload measures and engagement measures, respectively. The sectors ‘health care and welfare’ and ‘education’ reported to have implemented measures most often. Having implemented engagement measures was significantly associated with lower sickness absence (4.1% vs 4.5%). ConclusionsOverall, workload measures were more often implemented than engagement measures. Future research is recommended to determine reasons for implementation as well as causality in the association between mental health measures and sickness absence.