What is Mental Health?
Mental health can be defined as a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community[1]. The opposite of mental health is mental illness. Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities[2].
The mental wellbeing of individuals plays a vital role in the progress of a nation and this includes the economic development of the nation. Economic gains in a nation are higher when citizens are sound both physically and mentally.
Economic consequences therefore arise in the presence of mental health issues when these issues are not appropriately addressed and tackled. The mental health of the nation’s workforce and all citizens in general plays a vital role in how much a nation can reach its economic growth capacity.
Mental health and economic loss
Worldwide, nearly 1 billion people suffer from mental disorders ranging from addiction to dementia. The two most common mental disorders, anxiety and depression cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion every year in terms of lost productivity. It has been projected that poor mental health would cost the global economy $6 trillion by 2030 in terms of poor health and lowered productivity[3].
What does this imply? The mental health of individuals is both good for individuals as well as for the country. Labour productivity is key in a nation’s economic activities. For a nation to flourish, the right flow among the factors of production (land, labour, capital and enterprise) is one of the essentials. Certainly, other factors are responsible and play a key role in a nation’s growth however, the people (the labour) need to be sound enough to work. If laden with mental health issues and stress, a worker is less productive and this means fewer goods are produced.
So you see, a mentally healthy population is good for business. Of course, individuals should not simply be viewed as a means to make money for the economy. The whole purpose of looking out for the mental wellbeing of a population is because there is an understanding on the humanness of workers. So this implies that if employers, businesses and governments concern themselves on a priority basis with the mental health of citizens and working class citizens in this specific instance, the economy benefits. Gains on all sides. Now that sounds like good economics!