Stressed Zimbabwean workers cost companies $300m annually

Local firms could be losing nearly $300 million annually in wages and productivity through mental health or stress-related absence from work, a new report has shown.

According to the report by Industrial Psychology Consultants (IPC), the figure could be higher if all employees with mental health problems were seeking treatment.

IPC said due to stigma, a number of employees preferred traditional treatment methods to visiting clinics and hospitals.

Although IPC did not give reasons for the increase in stress-related ailments, analysts have blamed the deteriorating economic environment for fuelling such ailments. The deteriorating economic environment has seen companies struggling to pay salaries, in what analysts equate to wage theft.