Dear Luis,

I think mental health is the most important component of human capital. But most of the time, mental health and soundness of brain are assumed reflected through other mental, behavioural, and performance-related indicators. 

Given the stress and strain of modern age and the consequent fall-out on the human mind and performance, you are very appropriate to suggest that mental health should also be assessed as a component of overall assessment.

However, it is also pertinent to remember that mental assessment does not become subject to unjustifiable and extraneous interpretations. Moreover, the tests like the attitude and aptitude testing, are also good proxies for mental and social behaviour.

With regards

Israr

I agree with both the above. In addition you should take care to recognise the interactions between different types of "mental capital". For example, performance on aptitude tests will decline if mental health has declined. You must also distinguish between current mental health status and traits such as neuroticism, psychotism etc. In other words, careful definition of the mental health component of mental capital is required. Concepts such as thriving or resilience can help here but equally require sharp definition. I would refer you to the work of Sarah Stewart Brown at Warwick and the work at Emory. Generally it is best not to get too complicated so I would split into thinking and feeling and in thinking into processing and conceptual elements. The important thing is to be clear about your choice of constructs. But the answer is the same as the other colleagues i.e. "yes!" "most important".

I agree with both the above. In addition you should take care to recognise the interactions between different types of "mental capital". For example, performance on aptitude tests will decline if mental health has declined. You must also distinguish between current mental health status and traits such as neuroticism, psychotism etc. In other words, careful definition of the mental health component of mental capital is required. Concepts such as thriving or resilience can help here but equally require sharp definition. I would refer you to the work of Sarah Stewart Brown at Warwick and the work at Emory. Generally it is best not to get too complicated so I would split into thinking and feeling and in thinking into processing and conceptual elements. The important thing is to be clear about your choice of constructs. But the answer is the same as the other colleagues i.e. "yes!" "most important".

Dear Luis,

I concur with my colleagues in saying "Yes" to your questions.

I appreciated Andrew's comment: "...you should take care to recognise the interactions between different types of 'mental capital'...In other words, careful definition of the mental health component of mental capital is required." In addition to measuring one's IQ, it would be wise to assess and develop one's EQ as human capital.

The following links may interest you: 

http://www.oecd.org/edu/research/45760738.pdf

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2014/11/04/human-capital-in-the-21st-century

http://www.business-and-management.org/library/2010/5_2--29-42-Singh.pdf

Whatever may be the professional preservation of mind & body without disturbance our working environment is the must .

Mental health a part of human capital concept in which the important factor is only in mental health .Capital to be considered only as a necessary evil .

Mental health runs in depression ,disturbing once rest & night sleep .It may turn out to be a Blood pressure & other elements connected therewith .

It totally amount to our performance ,our career ,our impression what we have establish are the negative factor for our development & as such it only to be review only as mental health part.

This is my personal opinion 

Employers are getting more involved in healthcare because many realize that employees are their most important asset—their human capital. They’re also focused on healthcare because it is such an enormous expense, as evidenced by the oft-quoted fact that General Motors spends more on healthcare than on steel.

Many employers realize that they can use their purchasing dollars to leverage the healthcare system to demand better quality. And demanding it they are; employers are pushing strategies such as value-based purchasing and outcomes-based contracting. They are aligning incentives to produce better outcomes, as in the case of value-based benefit designs, where copayments might be lowered or eliminated to encourage people to access care and services to manage chronic illnesses.

http://careforyourmind.org/good-business-cents-mental-health-in-the-workplace/

Interesting article that estimates costs and other consequences about mental distresses on US labor force.

At least at the workplace I belong as well as in anothers labor environments (SME, public sector, etc.), as far as I know, we are in early stages of preventive policies in mental health population, where the process of awareness by participants of the labour market and general population about the problem of lack of mental health is still primarily a responsibility of government's public policy.

There still are much to do in other places like Argentina.