THE demise of the tea-break on the factory and office floor where employees could ''switch off'' for a time was highlighted yesterday as a possible contributory factor towards depression in the workplace, writes Raymond Duncan.
The call for the return of the office tea-lady and for employers to be more understanding towards staff with depression came as new statistics showed that up to one in four Scots who visit a GP could be suffering from an illness caused or aggravated by their work.
The figure is based on findings of a two-year study, the first of its kind in Scotland, carried out by the Lothian Health Project.
Ms Kathy Jenkins, co-ordinator of the project, said that if the figures were replicated for the whole of Scotland a worrying picture emerged on the effect of work on the nation's health.
Mr Gabe Docherty, manager of workplace programmes at the Health Education Board for Scotland, said the results of the study suggested a large problem in Scotland around issues such as work, inadequate workplace design, and unhealthy working environments.
''We hope this unique Scottish project will alert health boards nationwide to this problem.''
Edinburgh University senior lecturer Dr Raymond Agius, who advised the project, said the study of more than 3700 patients of all ages, 25% of whom were found to be suffering from work-related ill health of some kind, showed the problem had been underestimated.
He said: ''The solutions lie in changing attitudes among employers of what risks and hazards people are exposed to at work but there should be safety nets to ensure recognition at primary care level.''
Meanwhile, at a conference in Edinburgh of the National Depression Campaign, trained counsellor Vicki Maud claimed many employers did not want depressed people working for them.
She warned that the ''work, work, work'' ethic which had seen the tea-break disappear, and the introduction of flexi-time with people working lunch-breaks, would ''burn out'' some people by their mid-30s.
Her message to employers was to bring back the tea-lady and show ''a heck more understanding than is out there today''.
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