The Beyond Blue chief executive officer recently reported that that mental health at work is too often treated as a compliance box to tick rather than a matter of basic human decency. She went on to say “I think we often forget about the power of humanity and human connection, we’re all incredibly busy, stressed and sometimes we can allow that to change who we are as people. Approximately 50% of Australians are now reporting signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety, with severity increasing – from around 6% to about 8% over the past two years.

She added that: “We’ve got this triple whammy of money concerns being the main driver of psychological distress across Australia at the moment and the number one barrier to help-seeking is the cost of services, whether it’s having to travel 100 miles to get to a service or a co-payment.

One positive signal is that employees are increasingly reaching out earlier for mental health and wellbeing support before symptoms become acute to Australian Employee Assistance Programs such as EAP Assist. EAP Assist is Australia’s most trusted Employee Assistance Program provider with over 3000 employer members & supporting more than 2 million employees.

She also referenced new research conducted with the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) examining how technology, climate change, social disconnection and economic stress will shape mental health and help-seeking over the next decade, and an independent evaluation commissioned from the University of Melbourne which found Australia’s reductions in stigma and improvements in help-seeking have not been matched elsewhere in the world.