Long-Term Attitude Change After a Single-Day Manager Training Addressing Mental Health at the Workplace

Abstract

Mental health problems have become one of the most common causes of incapacity for work, and engender high costs to society. Especially managerial behavior was found to have a great impact on employees' well-being. In order to support those in leading positions in dealing with their own, as well as their employees', psychological stress factors, we conducted a specific manager training. At the same time, we wanted to find out about the training's short-and long-term effects. Participants were asked to give information about their knowledge and attitudes concerning mental health (Mental Health Knowledge Schedule, Social Distance Scale), as well as to comment on their own health condition (12-Item Short Form Health Survey, Patient Health Questionnaire) and working situation (Effort-Reward Inventory, Irritation Scale). Data were collected at baseline, as well as 3 and 12 months after the training. Results show long-term improvements in knowledge and attitudes measured by the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS: M t1 = 22.88, Mt2 = 23.79, Mt3 = 23.79, p = 0.005) but not in the Social Distance Scale (SoDi: M t1 = 0.96, Mt2 = 0.85, Mt3 = 0.84, p = 0.165). Over the period of time observed, no changes were found regarding health-or work-related instruments. Due to the uncontrolled design of the study, further research is needed to determine the exact effectiveness.

A Single-Day Training for Managers Reduces Cognitive Stigma Regarding Mental Health Problems: A Randomized Trial

“…The present study showed changes in knowledge-based stigma in the intervention group measured using MAKS three months after training. This is in line with the findings published by Schwarz and colleagues [ 47 ].…”

“…On the other hand, the values obtained by the SoDi were near to the minimum, corresponding to a floor effect without the relevant possibility for improvement. The values corresponded to those found by Schwarz and colleagues [ 47 ]. As with their study, a possible rationale lies in social desirability, furthered by the social working culture of the company.…”

“…A program for managers focussing on work-stress associated psychosomatic health issues and the interaction with affected employees was developed by Schwarz and colleagues [ 46 , 47 ]. It combines theoretical input containing facts about mental illness and work stress models with a focus on ERI with interactive group work on personal stressors and case discussions on dealing with affected employees.…”

Workplace Interventions Targeting Mental Health Literacy, Stigma, Help-Seeking, and Help-Offering in Male-Dominated Industries: A Systematic Review

“…The BCT ''information about consequences'' (health, emotional, or social and environmental) was identified in 10 articles primarily relating to raising awareness about the issues of mental ill-health, suicide, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); the impact of stigma; and the importance of social support, communication, and help-seeking (Gullestrup et al, 2011;King et al, 2018King et al, , 2023Milner, Law, et al, 2018;Milner et al, 2019;Ross, Caton, Mathieu, et al, 2020;Sage et al, 2016;Sayers et al, 2019;Tynan et al, 2018). ''Information about antecedents''-defined as the emotions that precede or predict a behavior-was identified in all included articles primarily relating to improving knowledge about risk and protective factors and signs of stress, mental ill-health, PTSD, and/or suicidal behavior (Gast et al, 2022;Gullestrup et al, 2011;King et al, 2018King et al, , 2023Milner, Law, et al, 2018;Milner et al, 2019;Ross, Caton, Mathieu, et al, 2020;Sage et al, 2016;Sayers et al, 2019;Schwarz et al, 2019;Tynan et al, 2018). The BCT ''social support'' related to providing information and/or facilitating discussion groups on where to seek-help; how to refer someone in distress; how to structure conversations around mental health and manage employees in distress; telephone support or counseling; encouraging people to seek or offer help; and providing psychological counseling to workers; was identified in 11 articles (Gast et al, 2022;Gullestrup et al, 2011;King et al, 2018King et al, , 2023Milner, Law, et al, 2018;Milner et al, 2019;Ross, Caton, Mathieu, et al, 2020;Sayers et al, 2019;Schwarz et al, 2019;Tynan et al, 2018).…”

Virtual Versus In-Person Suicide Prevention Training in the Workplace: Evaluation of the VitalCog Program

“…Interestingly, manager training need not be long or intensive to show impact. Schwarz and colleagues ( 2019 ) found that a 1-day manager training can have a long-term improvement in areas such as stigma-related knowledge of mental health, and Milligan-Saville et al ( 2017 ) showed that a 4-h training not only had a longer-term impact on managers’ confidence and behavior dealing with mental health, but also led to a reduction in sickness absence.…”