Small and medium-sized companies generate 62.2% of Spanish GDP and 72.4% of employment, therefore, they constitute the engine of the economy. Companies and self-employed people in the sectors hardest hit by the effects of COVID19 are very weak. Without or with little income, in debt, with liquidity problems and, above all, solvency, and with the drowning of fixed payments (taxes and fees, rents, or credits). We are talking, among others, about commerce, restaurants, hotels, tourism, culture, leisure, sports and nightlife, but without forgetting the uncertainty that sectors such as construction, information technology and communication, health and industry. Uncertainty that increases in a generalized way due to a new war in the center of Europe, with a Ukraine that is suffering from the Russian invasion.
The agreement between the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and the PIMEC Foundation goes through the promotion and development of projects related to health care and promotion, through healthcare, scientific research and innovation within the European project MENTUPP (Mental Health Promotion and Intervention in Occupational Settings, in Spanish: Promotion of Mental Health and Intervention in the Work Environment) for the improvement of psychological well-being within SMEs in the construction, health and information technology sectors and communication.
The IMIM-Hospital del Mar participates in this large-scale research project funded by the European Union and called MENTUPP that addresses aspects such as stress or burnout, as well as managing depressive and anxiety symptoms within SMEs, to improve the timely recognition and treatment of depression in the workplace and reduce suicidal behaviour, thanks to the interventions and materials provided to companies.
of the PIMEC Foundation Companies from the construction, health and information and communication technology sectors will be sought that want to participate free of charge in this European project, which has already passed the pilot showing very positive results. The material created is interactive with relevant information on stress, psychological well-being, and depressive and anxiety symptoms. The principal investigator of the project, Dr. Benedikt Amann, emphasizes that “it is critical to raise awareness of the importance of emotional and psychosocial well-being within SMEs in general and also beyond the project to ultimately create more economic well-being in each company” .
The collaboration agreement between the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and the PIMEC Foundation will have a monitoring committee to advance the objective of the agreement. Participating companies will have to go through the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and will require specific informed consent for collaboration.