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All - 2010 - 2009 - 2007

• Edinburgh Declaration on Mental Health Promotion
  26/10/2010
  The Edinburgh Declaration on Mental Health Promotion has been produced by the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion in October 2010. It aims to draw attention to the need to promote mental health and well-being at work by the Social Partners and other stakeholders. It envisages that 10 actions can be taken to promote workplace mental health and well-being.
• Living Conditions, Social Exclusion and Mental Wellbeing – Second European Quality of Life Survey
  15/01/2010
  The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) was conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the first time in 2003, covering 28 countries (the 15 EU Member States, 12 forthcoming Member States and Turkey). Eurofound’s second wave of the EQLS, which was carried out in 2007, offers a wide-ranging view of the diverse social realities in 31 countries – the current 27 EU Member States, along with Norway and the three candidate countries of Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.
  
  Many of the questions posed in the first EQLS in 2003 were asked again, on issues such as employment, income, education, housing, family, health, work–life balance, life satisfaction and perceived quality of society. In 2008, Eurofound commissioned secondary analyses of the EQLS data around key policy themes. The selected themes for the first set of secondary analyses are the following: trends in quality of life in Europe 2003–2008; living conditions, social exclusion and mental well-being; family life and work; subjective well-being; and quality of society and public services.
  
  This analytical report focuses on the theme of living conditions, social exclusion and mental well-being. It draws on the results of the EQLS to examine the factors that influence perceived social exclusion and the impact that this has on mental well-being. Such factors include labour market access, income and lifestyle standards, and access to social support. The scope of the findings – spanning 31 countries – offers an important insight into how social exclusion and integration vary across Europe, given the different cultural and historical contexts as well as recent social and economic experiences.
• Working our Way to Better Mental Health: A Framework for Action
  04/01/2010
  Mental ill-health presents a major challenge to the well-being of our society, and the strength of our economy. It blights lives, traps people in poverty and prevents the country harnessing the talents and potential of hundreds of thousands of people. Government is determined to lead the way in meeting this challenge.
  
  Poor mental health is very common. At any one time, one in three of our working-age population may be experiencing some kind of distress or mental health condition such as depression. The vast majority, fortunately, will recover quickly. But for far too many, the result is a lengthy sickness absence or long-term unemployment.
  
  Indeed mental ill-health is now the most common reason for claiming health-related benefits and 86 per cent remain on the benefits for more than three months (compared to 76 per cent for all other claimants). And the evidence shows that the longer people are detached from the labour market, the less chance they have of returning to work.
  
  This is even more of a risk when, as now, global economic problems are pushing up jobless figures around the world. We have learnt from past recessions of the real danger of short-term job loss turning into permanent unemployment and are determined not to repeat these mistakes.
  
  The positive link between employment and mental health is absolutely clear. Research shows people generally enjoy better mental health when they are in work. In contrast, the longer individuals are absent or out of work, the more likely they are to experience depression or anxiety. Work can therefore play a vital role in improving everyone’s well-being and mental health.
  
  Of this we estimate around one third - £30-40 billion – can be attributed to mental ill-health, in lost production, and National Health Service (NHS) treatment. And it does not count the additional and hidden cost of people with mental health conditions still in jobs but working beneath their full potential.
  A modern economy cannot afford such waste of individual talent nor the high welfare costs. We are determined to step up our efforts to support people in work and to help those out of work to return quickly to fulfilling and rewarding employment.

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