Abstract
Responding to an international discourse that frames workplace “psychological health” initiatives as vital to worker well-being, the authors of this chapter use texts and interviews to examine the ideologies and actual impacts of workplace “mental health” initiatives. The data show how worker productivity, satisfaction/dissatisfaction, and protest are being reframed as mental health issues. Rather than actually creating “healthier workplaces,” the authors argue, what is happening is the importation of extremely problematic features of the dominant “mental health” system into workplaces. Dynamics especially highlighted include power imbalances, coercion, and discrimination.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Andreasen, N. C., Flaum, M., & Arndt, S. (1992). The comprehensive assessment of symptoms and history (CASH): An instrument for assessing diagnosis and psychopathology. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49(8), 615.
Baker, R. (2014). Accommodating mental illness and addictions at work balancing safety, human rights, performance and best medical care. The Bottom Line Conference. Retrieved from http://www.bottomlineconference.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/AccommodatingMentalIllnessandAddictionsatWork.pdf
Breggin, P. (2008). Toxic psychiatry: Why therapy, empathy, and love must replace the drugs, electroshock, and biochemical theories of the “new psychiatry” (2nd ed.). New York: Springer.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Committee of Partners on Mental Health in the Workplace. (2007). Mental health in the labour force: Literature review and research gap analysis. Ottawa: Author. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthroundtable.ca/jul_07/WW%20GAP%20Report%20-May30_2007.pdf
Canadian Mental Health Association of Ontario. (2015). Workplace mental health promotion: A how-to guide. Presenteeism. Retrieved from http://wmhp.cmhaontario.ca/workplace-mental-health-core-concepts-issues/issues-in-the-workplace-that-affect-employee-mental-health/presenteeism
Canadian Standards Association Group. (2013). The national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace (the Standard). Retrieved from http://shop.csa.ca/en/canada/occupational-healthand-safety-management/cancsa-z1003-13bnq-9700-8032013/invt/z10032013/?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=vanity&utm_content=folder&utm_campaign=z1003#Download
Canadian Standards Association Group. (2014). Assembling the pieces—An implementation guide to the national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace (The Implementation Guide). Retrieved from http://shop.csa.ca/en/canada/occupational-health-and-safety-management/cancsa-z1003-13bnq-9700-8032013/invt/27037012014.
Chwastiak, L. A., Rosenheck, R. A., & Kazis, L. E. (2011). Association of psychiatric illness and obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking among a national sample of veterans. Psychosomatics, 52, 230–236.
Chwastiak, L. A., Rosenheck, R. A., Desia, R., & Kazis, L. E. (2010). Association of psychiatric illness and all-cause mortality in the National Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Psychosomatic Medicine, 72, 817–822.
Chokka, P. (2014). Mental health in the workplace. Chokka Center for Integrative Health. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9c50z_R8dw&feature=youtu.be
Chopra, P. (2009). Mental health and the workplace: Issues for developing countries. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 3(1), 4–4.
Conference Board of Canada. (2015). The better workplace conference. Retrieved from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/conf/betterworkplace/default.aspx.
Dimoff, J. K., & Kelloway, E. K. (2013). Bridging the gap: Workplace mental health research in Canada. Canadian Psychology, 54(4), 203.
Economic Club of Canada. (2015). WELLth management: Mental health at work challenge, Calgary. Retrieved from http://economicclub.ca/events/display/wellth-management-calgary
Great West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace. (2013). Defining workplace mental health needs: Responding with tools and resources. Retrieved from https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/pdf/M7198_Defining_workplace_mental_health_needs.pdf
Greenberg, P. E., Fournier, A., Sisitsky, T., et al. (2015). The economic burden of adults with major depressive disorder in the United States (2005 and 2010). The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 76, 2, 155. Retrieved from http://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/article/Pages/2015/v76n02/v76n0204.aspx
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (2011). Mental health in Canadian workplaces: Investigating employer’s best practices. Ottawa: Author/Great Place to Work® Institute Canada.
Jakubec, S. L. (2004). The “world mental health” framework: Dominant discourses in mental health and international development. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 23(2), 23–38.
Jakubec, S. L., & Campbell, M. (2003). Mental health research and cultural dominance: An analysis of the social construction of knowledge for international development. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 35(2), 74–88.
Jakubec, S. L., & Rankin, J. M. (2014). Knowing the right to mental health: The social organization of research for global health governance. Journal of Health Diplomacy, 1(2), 1–22 Retrieved from http://www.ghd-net.org/sites/default/files/jakubec_rankin.pdf.
Jovanović, V. (2015). Structural validity of the mental health continuum-short form: The bifactor model of emotional, social and psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 75, 154–159.
Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207–222.
Keyes, C. L. M. (2007). Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for improving national mental health. American Psychologist, 62(2), 95–108.
Kudlow, P. (2013). The perils of diagnostic inflation. Canadian Medical Association Journal—Journal De l'Association Medicale Canadienne, 185(1), E25–E26.
Lamers, S. M. A. (2012). Positive mental health: Measurement, relevance and implications. Enschede: University of Twente.
LaMontagne, A. D., Martin, A., Page, K. M., et al. (2014). Workplace mental health: Developing an integrated intervention approach. BMC Psychiatry, 14(1), 131–131.
Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2012). Psychological health and safety and action guide for employers. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/system/files/private/document/Workforce_Employers_Guide_ENG.pdf
Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2013a). Why investing in mental health will contribute to Canada’s economic prosperity and to the sustainability of our health care system. Retrieved at http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/node/742
Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2013b). The road to psychological safety: Legal, scientific and social foundations for a national standard for psychological safety in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/node/486
Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2015). Initiatives and projects: The working mind. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/initiatives-and-projects/working-mind
Mental Health Commission of Canada, Canadian Standards Association, and the Bureau de Normalisation du Quebec. (2013). The National Standard of Canada: Psychological health and safety in the workplace—Prevention, promotion and guidance to staged implementation: Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from http://shop.csa.ca/en/canada/occupational-health-and-safety-management/cancsa-z1003-13bnq-9700-8032013/invt/z10032013 https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/system/files/private/document/MHCC_Standard_FAQ_ENG-1.pdf
McDowell, C., & Fossey, E. (2015). Workplace accommodations for people with mental illness: A scoping review. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 25(1), 197–206.
National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. (2013). The Military Mental Health Continuum Model. Retrieved from http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/caf-community-health-services-r2mr-deployment/mental-health-continuum-model.page
Paton, N. (2009). Poor mental health reduces workplace productivity levels. Sutton: Reed Business Information UK.
Schultz, A. B., & Edington, D. W. (2007). Employee health and presenteeism: A systematic review. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 17(33), 547–579.
Shain, M. (2010). Tracking the Perfect Legal Storm: Converging legal systems create mounting pressure to create the psychologically safe workplace. Mental Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/system/files/private/Workforce_Tracking_the_Perfect_Legal_Storm_ENG_0.pdf
Shann, C., Martin, A., & Chester, A. (2014). Improving workplace mental health: A training needs analysis to inform beyondblue online resource for leaders. Asia Pacific, 52(3), 298–315.
Summerfield, D. (2008). How scientifically valid is the knowledge base of global mental health? BMJ, 336, 992–994.
World Health Organization. (2005). Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice. Geneva: WHO.
Wipond, R. (2015, February 18). Are America’s high rates of mental illness actually based on sham science? AlterNet. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/are-americas-high-rates-mental-illness-actually-based-sham-science
Wipond, R. (2014a, October 23). Research suggests that psychiatric interventions like admission to a mental facility could increase suicide risk. AlterNet. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/research-suggests-psychiatric-interventions-admission-mental-facility-could-increase
Wipond, R. (2014b, July 7). The proactive search for mental illnesses in children. Mad in America. Retrieved from http://www.madinamerica.com/2014/07/proactive-pursuit/
Wipond, R. (2014c, July 9). The algorithmic managing of “at-risk” children. Mad in America. Retrieved from http://www.madinamerica.com/2014/07/algorithmic-management/
Wipond, R. (2013a). An overabundance of caution. Focus. Retrieved from http://www.focusonline.ca/?q=node/648
Wipond, R. (2013b, June 2013). Global psychiatric war hits home. Focus. Retrieved from http://focusonline.ca/?q=node/558
Wipond, R. (2012, November 2012). The case for electroshocking Mia. Focus. Retrieved from http://www.focusonline.ca/?q=node/463
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wipond, R., Jakubec, S. (2016). Creating the Better Workplace in Our Minds: Workplace “Mental Health” and the Reframing of Social Problems as Psychiatric Issues. In: Burstow, B. (eds) Psychiatry Interrogated. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41174-3_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41174-3_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-41173-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-41174-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)