A report by researcher Rifka Weehuizen of the United Nations University - MERIT suggests that knowledge-based economies may be damaging the so-called mental capital that supports them by placing high demands on workers' abilities to be highly adaptable, self-directed and able to continuously interact with customers and colleagues:
"[I]n the service economy the main way to achieve [high productivity] is by making people work more and more intensely. By giving workers autonomy they have to effectively self-manage and self-regulate, which is much more efficient from the firm's perspective, but which adds substantially to the load and pressure of the worker."Noting high rates of sick leave and disability due to mental health problems resulting in lowered GNPs, the report suggests governments invest more money into mental health programs, particularly those stressing prevention.
Read more: Mental health problems threaten the knowledge economy
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