Improving Mental Health in Small and Medium Enterprises

Enterprises are increasingly aware of the tremendous costs caused by absenteeism and presenteeism due to depression and the responsibility to support mental health of their employees. The EU-funded large-scale research "Mental Health Promotion and Intervention in Occupational Settings" addresses non-clinical aspects such as stress or burnout as well as depression as a prevalent and severe medical disorder. In January 2020, the Consortium, coordinated by Prof. Ella Arensman, School of Public Health and National Suicide Research Foundation, University College Cork, met for its first project meeting in Cork, Ireland. The consortium consisting of 17 high-ranked international partners discussed the approaching work packages, milestones and desired impact in order to develop, implement and evaluate various (online) interventions and training materials.

“The project will provide sustainable interventions for mental health promotion in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe and Australia by involving employees, supervisors and managers, and by combining expertise from all relevant disciplines. A unique aspect of the intervention programme is the focus on both non-clinical aspects, such as burnout or stress and clinical conditions, including severe depression and anxiety”, says Arensman.

For more information, please contact:
Josephine Kreutzer
josephine.kreutzer@eaad.net