[The state and results of countermeasures for mental health at a certain apparel company].
We speculated that there would be more occupational stress in an apparel company than in other areas of business, because employees work long hours and under poor conditions. We investigated 66 employees of an apparel company who visited an occupational physician to consult about their mental health. There were 561 male and 387 female employees in that company. The employees who had visited an occupational physician had worked long every day under poor conditions, and they had been required to be more artistic than other employees in that company. Female employees visited occupational physicians more than males. Apparel companies, use a system of "specialty store retailer of Private-label Apparel (SPA)", and several sections make special trademark "brands". These sections compete with each other. Employees must plan, design, make patterns, and sew new dresses in a 7-day cycle. They are extremely busy and this therefore creates stress. We came to the conclusion that many apparel companies were stressful workplaces. It is important that a psychiatrist examines employees who occupational physicians have diagnosed as unhealthy. Frequent consultation with occupational physicians is as important as a psychiatrists examination. Managers must manage absence, efficiency, and written correspondence of all employees. These are useful signs of mental disorder. When employees return to work after sick leave, rehabilitation in the workplace after absence is useful. The employee should work for only two hours a day at first. Working hours are then extended gradually. The employee can then return to work easily if this rehabilitation program is followed.
Toshima
Hiroko
H
Department of Public Health and Environmental Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3 25-8 Nishishinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan. toshima@jikei.ac.jp
Nakamura
Koji
K
Nishioka
Makiko
M
Shimizu
Hidesuke
H
D003020:Clothing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*