[lit-ideas] Mental Health and China

Hi,
I read this and thought, of course, of Andy. <g>
 
Then, I thought "Uh oh."   Is this because our lifestyles have  translated to 
Chinese lifestyles or is it that they used to not complain and  just deal 
with what life gave them?
 
Best,
Marlena in Missouri
From Workforce.com
 

Interest in Mental Health Benefits Growing in  China
Employees in Asia and elsewhere overseas, whether working  for multinationals 
or for local firms, are increasingly facing the same  challenges as their 
Western counterparts.  
June 17, 2005 
Interest in Mental  Health Benefits Growing in China 
Long hours  away from home. Sharply rising divorce rates. Stress on the job. 
The Chinese  government is realizing that these characteristics of the Chinese 
workplace mean  itâs high time for employee assistance programs to be more 
widely used in China.  
This month, more than 100 government  officials, psychologists and human 
resources directors met in Beijing to discuss  the use of EAPs, according to 
the 
Xinhua News Agency.  
In  the past, _EAP benefits_ 
(http://www.workforce.com/picosearch/search.php?psel=2&phide=1&sup=benefits)  
were  offered to employees worldwide, but often 
just to expats, not foreign nationals.  Thatâs changing. John Maynard, CEO of 
the  International EAP Association, says China is his fastest-growing market.  
âThereâs a huge interest throughout Asia,â he says. âThe classic family 
 
system is breaking down. Young people are moving to cities. There is more  
stress, less social support. Overwork and overtime is a serious issue there.â 
 
IPS Worldwide is an EAP vendor growing about 15 percent annually. The  
company is based in Sydney, Australia, where EAPs have been used for about 22  
years. The company has been operating in China for seven years. IPS operations  
chief Bob Smith says that human resources is such a foreign  
concept--literally--in China, so new, that his company is having to compete 
with  a lot of 
inexperienced employee assistance firms in the field. 
Often, he says, the companies have staff members without proper training.  â
There are no standards, there are no rules, there are no laws, there are no  
professional ethics,â Smith says. Anyone can throw around the word 
âcounselor,â 
 he adds, without training in psychology. Also, some EAP providers operating 
in  Asia lack an understanding of the local culture, he says. In China and 
other  countries, for example, employees donât want to âlose faceâ by 
admitting 
they  need help. âIf you imply that someone needs assistance, they will 
absolutely not  use the program,â Smith says. Smith says some EAP counselors 
from 
outside of  Asia also donât understand how important cousins and extended 
family 
are outside  of the United States. 
Maynardâs group has signed an agreement with the Chinese government to  set 
up standards and training for the country. He was in Hong Kong this month  
speaking to human resources managers at several Hong Kong-based companies, many 
 
of whom outsource to a Hong Kong-based firm called Four Dimensions  Consulting. 
Among the many other mental health vendors in Asia: Human Dynamic, which  has 
worked with Procter & Gamble in China and for DuPont in Taiwan;  
Psychcn-Chestnut, a joint venture between an American company and a Chinese  
company; and 
Employee Development Service, established in 1991. Xiaoping Zhu, a  Shanghai 
psychologist, started a company called China EAP Service Center. Heâs  trying 
to sign on as clients China Mobile as well as Johnson & Johnson  China, for 
whom he has done some employee satisfaction survey work.  
Richard  Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of  Chicago-based EAP giant ComPsych, 
says companies are increasingly using EAPs in  Asia and Europe as boundaries 
disappear because of the ease of travel, the use  of the euro and the general 
globalization of business. Multinational companies  operating in China, such as 
GE, AIG and Motorola, as well as China-based  companies, are realizing the 
mental health of their employees can affect their  bottom lines.  
âAs China becomes more westernized, the stress and demands of performance  
increase,â Chaifetz says. âYou mimic the same issues people face in the  
U.S.--with, however, sensitivity to cultural differences.â 
Meanwhile, in Latin America, GE is expanding its EAP offering, according  to 
ComPsych spokeswoman Jennifer Hudson. This idea, she says, âwas initiated by  
the benefits and medical directors in Latin America, who are learning from 
U.S.  business practices.â 
IPSâ Smith says that in Argentina, employee assistance is well enough  
understood that the government actually foots the bill for employees--once  
during 
their lifetimes--who are in rehab for addiction.  
He  says that EAPs have expanded around the world as fewer people are 
hospitalized  and more are going to work while taking antidepressants. People 
with 
mental  illnesses, he says, âare in the workforce. Theyâre sitting in the 
next 
cubicle.  Theyâre as effective as anybody else may be.â

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