“The first wealth,” claimed Ralph Waldo Emerson, “is health”. With the economic downturn putting individual’s and organisations’ finances under strain, how will the health of the workforce fare?

The answer to this question depends on how governments and employers manage the risks and opportunities a recession presents.

That’s right: opportunities. Despite all the doom and gloom, when it comes to workers’ health the recession isn’t all bad news. This is because, while most people want to increase their income, affluence isn’t necessarily good for us.

One of the downsides of the Australia’s relative wealth is that we tend to say “yes” a little too often. Yes, we need to drive to work. Yes, we need to eat takeaway for lunch. Yes, we’d like another Friday arvo G&T and oh yes, we will have a sneaky cheese platter while we’re at it. Too many of these “yeses” and we end up overweight, unfit and unhealthy: the kind of employees that strike fear into the heart of OHS and RTW professionals.

When we have a little less money to go around, however, we tend to prioritise our expenditure more carefully and this can be good for our health.

American studies have shown that road accidents, for example, decrease during times of economic strain as people drive less to avoid fuel costs. If, rather than driving, people begin walking or cycling to work, fitness levels should improve and employers can expect to see increased productivity in the workplace. The same goes for eating out versus cooking at home and taking a packed lunch to work. Home cooked meals tend to be healthier – not to mention the nutritional (and money saving) benefits of growing your own organic fruit and veggies.

Due to the fact that inexperienced employees tend to be the first to go when downsizing occurs, employers may also see fewer workplace injuries during the recession. However, organisations should not become complacent about injury management. Recessions also bring with them serious health risks that need to be managed effectively. These risks are greatest for the unemployed but also impact those with fears about job security.

The consensus of health professionals is that unemployment is associated with:

• Stress;
• Sleep disturbances;
• Increased smoking;
• High blood pressure;
• Poor diet;
• Depression; and
• Strain on families, including children.

If unemployment persists for 12 months or longer, recession health ‘cons’ can become long term health problems, including:

• Obesity;
• Cancer;
• Heart problems; and
• Mental illness.

The really bad news is that the negative impacts described above don’t just affect the unemployed (although that would be bad enough): they also extend to those in insecure employment.

According to Professor Mark Harris of UNSW, this means that 1/3 of Australia’s workforce – including the unemployed and people in part-time and casual positions – could be vulnerable. Not to mention those employed in recession-exposed industries like manufacturing and tourism.

The longer a recession lasts, the higher the likelihood that health outcomes down the track will worsen for both those who actually lose their jobs and those who fear that they will lose them. As always, it is those who are already disadvantaged who suffer most.

However, even individuals in relatively secure jobs are likely to find the economic downturn stressful. What this means in terms of health depends on how deep the recession becomes and the workplace and social contexts in which people experience the economic uncertainty.

Australia’s Professor Gordon Parker believes that the social cohesion that can result from feeling “we’re all in this together” may strengthen communities and therefore lead to a drop in rates of suicide and depression, as has occurred during times of war.

However, other researchers have pointed out that such positive mental health consequences will only occur if the broad population feels that they are united against a common enemy, and this may not be the case during an economic downturn, when the gulf between rich and poor tends to widen.

“At the extreme,” says Professor Danny Dorling from the University of Sheffield, recessions can double “the risk of suicide, depression and attempted suicide.”

This puts the onus firmly on employers and governments to ensure that a spirit of cooperation and community is fostered, rather than an “us against them” mentality. It also presents community leaders with a unique opportunity to encourage cost cuttings that feed health savings.

There are potential health benefits to the recession, but they won’t just fall in our laps. Now, more than ever, it’s time to get proactive about health and wellbeing.

The information for this article was drawn from an ABC podcast and, (for a slightly more negative perspective) this piece from the UK's Nursing Times.Net.