Subjects - Business

The mental dimension of performance has been receiving a lot of attention recently – for all the wrong reasons. Statistics Canada recently reported that stress-related absences cost employers $3.5-billion annually, and that health co

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

sts for employees reporting high levels of stress are 50% above average . In another study, the Business And Economic Roundtable on Mental Health called depression at work “the unheralded business crisis in Canada”, and noted that “w

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

orkplace stress is a factor in the onset of mental illness” . Given that mental health issues comprise 75% of short-term and 79% of long-term disability claims , the cost of neglecting employees’ mental well-being is staggeringly h

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

igh.

Clearly, the mental well-being of employees directly impacts the bottom line. And herein lies the opportunity.

Focusing on the development of employees’ mental fitness skills is an untapped lever for growing the bottom lin

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

that is completely within the control of the organization. And, it represents a tremendous opportunity that extends beyond reducing the negative impact of stress – an opportunity to improve performance under pressure, increase

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

employee engagement, and create an environment of trust that fosters productivity.

Improved Performance Under Pressure

The skills of mental fitness originate in the field of Sport Psychology – a discipline dedicated to

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

studying excellence under intense pressure. As the physical aspects of sport, such as training regimens and nutrition, have become more standardized at the elite level, who wins and loses is increasingly determined by the mental

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

fitness of the athlete. The situation in business is extremely similar. As the talent pool becomes increasingly skilled and better educated, the true competitive advantage comes from having people who can access their skills an

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

knowledge when it matters most – when the pressure is on.

While it was once thought that mental fitness was something innate within an individual, our work with elite level sport has shown us that it can be taught, learned, p

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

racticed and mastered. It is a set of skills just like any other and is an essential complement to the technical skills any job requires.

Increased Employee Engagement

A recent Towers Perrin study of over 35,000 employees

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

found that more than 60% of employees are only ‘moderately’ engaged and could easily slide to the wrong end of the engagement scale. The study concluded that strengthening the engagement of this group, whom they term “the massi

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

ve middle”, may be “the most critical task virtually every employer faces today”. The study also outlined the 10 major drivers of employee engagement, of which the number one driver was “senior management’s interest in employee

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

’ well-being.”

With 1 in 3 employees reporting high levels of stress , one of the most effective ways senior management can demonstrate interest in their employees’ well-being is to take visible action to recognize and address t

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

he pressures they face through mental fitness training.

An Environment of Trust

The bedrock of a mentally healthy work environment is trust. Distrust at work is a key predictor of absenteeism and disability rates , and a

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

n impediment to the open flow of information. The foundation of an environment of trust is ‘walking the talk’ when it comes to valuing your employees – backing up statements like ‘people are our greatest asset’ with action. Gi

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

ving your employees the opportunity to develop the mental fitness skills they need to pro-actively manage the stressors in their lives is one of the most powerful ways to start building an environment of trust.

Mental Fitness

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

A Win-Win Proposition

Developing mental fitness drives employee engagement and builds trust. Mentally fit employees perform under pressure and take responsibility for managing their stress. The benefits of investing in ment

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

al fitness are substantial for both individuals and the organization. If you want to create an environment of trust where engaged employees consistently perform at their best, building mental capability needs to be a key compon

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

ent of your plan.

Sources

Graham Lowe, Trust can Ease the Stress (The Globe and Mail, October 22, 2003)

The Unheralded Business Crisis in Canada: Depression At Work (Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health, July 200

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

0)

Staying@Work 2005 (Watson Wyatt Canada, April 2005) Retrieved from http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=14547 on April 22, 2005

Working Today: Understanding What Drives Employee Engagement (Towers Perrin Inc., 2003)

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Subjects - Proactive Workplace Stress Management - Moving Your Organization to Healthy High Performance

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