Workplace Issues Hurt Mental, Physical Health: Surgeon General
Media outlets report on words from U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy concerning risks to workers' health from unhappy workplace environments. Separately, Murthy's efforts to tackle youth mental health are facing stiff criticism, but efforts to tackle military suicides are working.
Stat:
Surgeon General: Workplaces Take A Toll On Health
Your job can be hazardous to your health, according to a new report from the U.S. Surgeon General that highlights how the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed fractures in working Americans’ mental health and well-being. (Cooney, 10/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Toxic Workplaces Are Bad For Mental And Physical Health, Surgeon General Says
“Toxic workplaces are harmful to workers—to their mental health, and it turns out, to their physical health as well,” Dr. Murthy said. The surgeon general’s guidance on the role of the workplace in well-being comes as many workers report work stress and difficulty concentrating. Meanwhile, companies have stepped up spending on mental-health and well-being benefits in recent years. (Ellis, 10/20)
Meanwhile, on youth mental health —
Politico:
As Murphy Prioritizes Youth Mental Health, Lawmakers And Advocates Blast His Plan To Defund School-Based Services
“This is not a modernization or expansion of the current model. It’s an elimination of the current model,” James Earle, superintendent of Trenton Public Schools, told lawmakers Wednesday during at a virtual meeting of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools. The administration’s proposed plan, Earle said, “pulls services away from schools and therefore it creates barriers to access that the original model was designed to eliminate.” (Sitrin, 10/20)
On mental health matters in the military —
AP:
Military Suicides Drop As Leaders Push New Programs
Suicides across the active duty U.S. military decreased over the past 18 months, driven by sharp drops in the Air Force and Marine Corps last year and a similar decline among Army soldiers during the first six months of this year, according to a new Pentagon report and preliminary data for 2022. (Baldor, 10/20)
