More workers than ever before were approved for compensation for work-related mental illnesses in fiscal 2011, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. While those statistics offer hope of treatment for those suffering and are a clear recognition that workplaces are one of the causes of mental illness, the numbers of those approved remains quite low, only 325 out of 1,272 applications.
The most common reason for illness in the cases was a change in the nature or volume of the work. That may be particularly relevant as many firms downsize in the economic downturn while increasing the remaining employees' workload. However, experiences with accidents and harassment, including bullying and assault, were also listed as causes.
No particular pattern in type of work was evident. Mental illness is fairly widespread across different types of workplaces as well as across different age groups.