Abstract
Compared with other industrialized countries, the suicide rate in Japan is high. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the mental health care offered at a newspaper facing organizational restructuring and with an aging work force. The Health and Safety Committee played a central role in the creation and application of a new mental health care system. This plan, developed to meet the on-site dynamics of the company, was based on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's “Guide for Workers' Mental Health Promotion in the Workplace.” Executive officers' roles were defined at the directors' meetings, and the Health and Safety Committee held Listening Skills Seminars for executive personnel. As a result, the mental health care system functioned effectively and fostered the care of two presenting employees (i.e., one with slight depression with chronic lumbago and the other with alcohol dependency). In addition, the number of workers who took 4 or more days of sick leave decreased from 31 of 190 in 1996 to 5 of 108 in 2004, with no psychologically related absences. Moreover, the number of industrial injuries declined from 8 cases in 1996 to 0 cases in 2004, and no occupational deaths or early retirements occurred between the fiscal years of 1996 and 2004. As a result of this research at the company, a worksite where repeated large-scale organizational restructuring has occurred, the mental health care system functioned effectively and contributed to a decrease in the rate of sick leave taken by workers.