[lit-ideas] Mental Health and China
- From: Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 21:10:43 EDT
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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