Did pilot depression cause tragic plane crash?

Mental health problems such as depression and workplace stress not only cause chronic diseases, they can even contribute to the kind of disaster seen this week.

For example, the BBC reported (24th March 2015) that staff absences for mental health problems have doubled at hospital trusts across England in the past four years.  There’s no doubt that the relentless pressure of a target-based culture, with reduced resources available to meet increasing demand, is a key factor.  However, could the management culture, the ways in which employees are generally being managed, also be a factor? In an environment where ‘caring’ should be the watchword, are managers taking a caring attitude to their own people, are they quick to spot the symptoms of a worker under undue stress and ready to provide the needed support? Does the ‘system’ enable managers to actually do that?

Few employers will be immune to this critical issue as mental health problems for employees increase.  What can and should be done about it? Here’s one informed view: