Abstract
The Stress Check Program was first considered as a screening tool for depression from the standpoint of suicide prevention. Through the review process, however, concerns were raised about potentially disadvantageous treatment of workers based on their screening results (e.g., layoffs), which shifted the purpose of the program to the provision of opportunities for companies to be aware of psychological stress among employees. Under the Stress Check Program, strict and unique information control is enforced; for example, individual workers’ stress test results cannot be accessed by employers without their consent, and employers are prohibited from treating workers unfavorably based on their stress test results. Moreover, employers are required to make adequate improvements in workplace environments based on the results of group analysis by departmental units. This also set the Stress Check Program apart from conventional health management, which targets individuals.
Since questionnaire items and assessment criteria for stress check are left to each employer’s judgment, ensuring the accuracy of test results is expected to be a major challenge in the implementation of the program. As the stress test is conducted with self-administered questionnaires, workers who are concerned about the possibility of unfair treatment may manipulate their responses so as not to reveal their actual stress levels. Therefore, further examination is needed to verify the effectiveness of the Stress Check Program as a screening tool.
With regard to the stress check as a “general health checkup,” future challenges include the quantification of stress using objective indicators and verification of the relationships between stress and other diseases. Group analysis is expected to contribute to the establishment of Data Health Plans and even healthy companies through examination of correlations between stress and mental health indicators (such as the number of working days lost due to poor mental health) and other associated factors.
