Mental Illness in the Workplace
How to Support Employees through Mental Health Challenges
Jan 12, 2009
The World Health Organisation estimates that as many as 200-300 people of every 1,000 workers are likely to experience a mental health problem.
In many countries, workplace health and safety legislation provides that employers have a duty to care and to not cause or deepen psychological injuries of workers. Penalties for not abiding by this legislation include fines, as well as opening up the potential for the employer to be sued for damages through the civil court system.
There are two ways to view employees who experience mental health issues - one is the standard "loss of productivity, sick leave taker, can't be trusted to get anything right, probably abusing drugs or alcohol" and the other is "this person is still the same but experiencing some challenging personal issues which, with our help, can get through and can still be a very valued and worthwhile member of the team."
The better way for your workplace to view employees with mental health issues is from the second of the two viewpoints. With assistance from an employer, a person experiencing mental health challenges can remain a valued and productive employee. Being able to stay at work will assist the employee on their journey of recovery as well ensure that their unique talents and skills are not lost to the employer for good.
Employee Assistance Plans
If your workplace has an employee assistance plan in place, ensure that any employees who may be experiencing tough times are aware that they can obtain free or low cost confidential counselling from a reputable provider. For some employees, external counselling may be all that is required to overcome their problems.
Leave/Flexible Work Schedule
Another option for supporting employees experiencing mental health issues is to offer time off or a flexible work schedule. More flexibility in the hours that an employee is expected to work enables the employee to deal with stress, provided that there is a resultant decrease in the amount of work that is to be produced. If you ask an employee to fit 5 days' work into 3 days, you will exacerbate the employee's stress levels.
Additional Assistance
Additional assistance, in either a temporary or casual mode, may assist an employee to manage their workload throughout their journey to recovery without there being any impact on the productivity of the employee's department or team.
See the Person Not the Diagnosis
It is always important to remember that even when experiencing mental health concerns, your employee remains a person first and foremost, not simply their diagnosis. Remember to be supportive and empathic in relation to your employee's condition, not absent or sympathetic.
Experiencing a mental health condition does not mean that an employee can no longer perform their job. In fact in many cases, remaining in fulfilling employment is an important step on the road to recovery. Simple changes to the work environment, as listed above, may assist your employee stay at work and, if expanded company wide, can have the effect of decreasing stress for all employees.
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