Henkilöstöjohtajien asenteet ja mielenterveysongelmien vuoksi alentuneen työkyvyn tukemisen toimenpiteet suomalaisilla työpaikoilla

Personnel management attitudes and measures to support work ability in Finnish workplaces in connection with mental health disorders

Mental health disorders impose costs on society through health expenditure, increased sick leave and declining labor productivity. Support for work continuation is necessary for human, political and economic reasons. The article examines the attitudes of personnel management towards mental health problems and the measures to support reduced work ability in the workplace due to mental disorders. The article is based on a survey addressed to the personnel management of workplaces (n=300). The data was analyzed using statistical methods such as direct distributions, cross-tabulation, logistic regression analysis and statistical tests. Personnel managements’ attitudes towards mental health problems were mostly positive and they wanted transparency from employees, although half of the respondents believed that knowledge of a person’s mental health problem could lead to negative consequences in the workplace. The most common measures to support work ability were flexible working hours and reorganization of work. Work adaptation was more common in the public sector and in large workplaces. In the industrial sector, the measures were fewer and attitudes more negative. The measures were more often used to support all employees’ work ability rather than targeted at mental health rehabilitators. Although personnel management considered the adaptation of work for mental health reasons almost invariably necessary, the measures were still limited.