Effects of a mental health training program for manufacturing company managers

We practiced interventional approaches for the promotion of occupational mental health in a manufacturing company with approximately 2,000 workers, between 2005 and 2007. We investigated the long-term effects of our mental health training program--including Active Listening (AL) training for managers--on perceived job stressors, stress reactions and social supports of workers, and mental sick leave. We conducted the mental health training program with AL training for all managers in order to improve their communication skills and support for workers. The investigation was conducted using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ). In addition, we surveyed the number of workers taking sick leave due to mental problems from 2003 to 2007. Among the categories of "job stressors" in the BJSQ, the scores for "quantitative workload," "qualitative workload" and "physical demands" improved significantly after our interventional approaches. The number of workers taking sick leave had been increasing gradually from 2003 to 2005, but this decreased by approximately half in 2006 and 2007. Our mental health training programs for managers were successful in decreasing some job stressors, stress reactions, and workers' sick leave due to mental problems.