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Lifeline for mental health issues

Burnout, sleep problems, depression: mental health is becoming an increasingly important issue in the world of work. Silvia Günter, responsible for occupational health management at Implenia Switzerland, explains how Implenia offers its employees support for mental health problems and how line managers can also benefit from this.

Why is it so important to seek help in mental health crises?

Silvia Günter: If someone is emotionally distressed, they are less able to perform. This increases the risk of accidents, among other things. And when challenges arise at work, they may lack the energy to cope with them. In the worst-case scenario, this can lead to prolonged incapacity to work. It therefore makes sense to psychosocial problems actively intervene and get help.

When should you take action?

It is particularly important to act quickly in the event of burnout and exhaustion depression. As with safety, the same applies to health: look and say STOP! Apart from personal suffering, there is also a lot at stake for the company: long-term incapacity to work on the part of employees puts a strain on the other team members, ties up valuable resources and is also expensive because it increases the premiums for daily allowance insurance. Healthy and productive employees are key to the company's success. Reintegrating someone back into a team after nine months of absence is much more difficult than taking measures at an early stage to prevent the person from being absent in the first place.

"As with safety, the same applies to health: look and say STOP!"

Silvia Günter, Occupational Health Management

Implenia offers its employees free and anonymous external advice. Why is Implenia investing in this service? 

For some time now, we have observed a significant increase in absences from work due to psychosocial problems. As an employer, Implenia has a duty of care towards its employees. One of the ways in which we fulfill this duty of care is by raising awareness of mental illness among those involved and offering concrete support in crisis situations - for example through this offer of external psychological support.

It is important to look and say STOP or get help. Does this only apply to your own health?

No, you can contact the external hotline on your own behalf, but also if you are worried about someone else. For example, if someone in the team seems stressed or depressed or is ill for a longer period of time for psychological reasons, managers, colleagues or we from the Occupational Health Management (OHM) team can draw attention to this service.

How does such external consulting work?

This varies greatly from person to person. Around two thirds of all counseling sessions were carried out online, with face-to-face meetings taking place in around 30% of cases. Counseling is often completed after just one or two appointments; however, if necessary, up to seven counseling appointments are possible per case. The statistics for 2024 show that the service is actively used.

What topics are discussed?

The issues range from sleep problems, personal fears and dealing with crisis situations to family matters, bullying or an addiction issue through to a state of total physical, emotional and mental exhaustion with reduced performance. For a crisis to occur, various types of stress from the personal and business environment usually come together.

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