3 Part Series on Mental Health – Part 3

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Employers and dealing with Mental Illness in the workplace

Since only 23% of employees would talk to their employer about their mental illness, many organizations choose to take responsibility through providing mentally healthy environment and caring about the wellbeing of their employees. It takes some extra work, but with one in three workplace disability claims being related to mental illness, it will be incredibly advantageous to your business.

Organizational Solutions Inc., a disability management service for businesses in Canada suggests the following 7 steps to help manage mental health claims in the workplace.

1) Intervene early.
2) Show fairness in management style, disability policies, and applying these policies.
3) Manage issues compassionately.
4) Encourage employees and their managers to bring any workplace observations they have forward and make suggestions to resolve any concerns.
5) Employers should follow through on any valid concerns for improvement in the employee’s working conditions or environment.
6) Constructive two-way communication is important to encourage employees at all stages of absence and return to work.
7) Follow up with the employee throughout the entire process, and be diligent in documenting each case of mental illness for future reference.

Employers must also be very intentional and respectful when their employees return to work after being off on a mental illness related claim. Infusing programs into your company to help those employees coming back from short term disability leave is something you can do to assist those with mental illness that want to return to work. It is important to ask the employee how they would prefer to re-enter their vocation, and how you could give this person a more mentally balanced work environment. Employers also need to work on being flexible and patient with the person who is ill, and try to understand what they are struggling with.

We often encourage engaging the assistance of a disability management specialist for complicated claims. Please contact our office for assistance for a preferred list of specialists.

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