Ethics in Industrial Mental Health Programs

Abstract

Most employee assistance programs now in place have been initiated by management in response to a variety of legal, social, and economic pressures. Social attitudes toward mental illness and alcoholism have become less stigmatizing, and research has demonstrated their staggering cost to business in terms of production, absenteeism, and benefits usage. At the same time, labor and government are increasingly stressing quality-of-life issues which include the psychological impact of working conditions. Finally, recent court decisions awarding workers’ compensation for job-induced alcoholism and mental illness, as well as OSHA regulations and proposed legislation, place increased responsibility for employee mental health on business.