While mental illness statistics are surprising (in Canada, one in five people will be diagnosed with a mental illness), the cost to employers is just as startling.

According to one statistic, 14% of net corporate profits go to deal with mental health issues in the workplace when they’re not properly addressed, explained Mary Ann Baynton, a consultant for Mental Health Works, an initiative of the Canadian Mental Health Association of Ontario, at the SHAMBA Foundation in Toronto on Sept. 23.

Employers that act quickly to assist an employee struggling with mental illness will a see a greater reduction in the severity and frequency of symptoms as well as fewer absences in the workplace, Baynton stressed.

Why should employers care?
In addition to the ill employee, the mental health of the employer and the co-workers needs to be considered. “It can be stressful if you’ve got someone in the workplace with an issue,” she says.

Baynton suggests a three-step approach for managers in dealing with mental illness in the workplace.

1. Notice that an employee has had a change in her usual or regular behaviour, (i.e. avoiding eye contact or being extremely quiet.)

2. Approach that employee and discuss the change. Baynton says employers have to recognize that this is not easy, but the longer an employer puts it off, the sicker the employee can get and the greater the likelihood of collateral damage—that is, the business and co-workers suffer.

3. Ask how you can help the employee be successful at work. “It’s not, ‘How can I solve all your problems?’” says Baynton. “How can you help your own employee to be successful in the job you hired them for?”

Suggesting links to sources outside of the workplace is also an option. “No one wants you to diagnosis, treat or counsel employees,” says Baynton, “even if you’re qualified to do so.”

Returning to Work
According to research from British Columbia, there are three factors that can have an impact on an employee’s success when he or she returns to work after an absence:

1. the person’s mental health;
2. whether or not workplace issues have been resolved; and
3. whether or not the person has developed coping strategies.

“You need a workplace that’s healthy for everybody in it,” says Baynton. “Co-workers’ emotions are just as valuable.”

For further information on mental health, visit:
www.mentalhealthcommission.ca
www.mentalhealthworks.ca
www.gwlcentreformentalhealth.com

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Brooke Smith is associate editor of Benefits Canada.