Workplace Mental Health: Implications for Your Business and How to Have a Positive Impact

Gillian Wells & Jennifer Lombardo-Seib

Our statistics

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Sources: Smetanin et al, 2011 Prepare for the Mental Health Commission of Canada; Chesney, Goodwin & Fazel (2014); Government of Canada Report from Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System: Mental Illness in Canada, 2015

In any given

year, 1 in 5

Canadians will

face a mental

health issue

5,000,000

1 in 7 Canadians use

health services for a

mental disorder

annually (5 million

Canadians every year)

Mental illness

can reduce life

expectancy by

10 to 20 years

And mental illness

reduces quality of life

and leads to higher

unemployment and

longer disability periods

How does mental illness compare to other conditions in terms of burden?

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ICES Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Public Health Ontario, 2012

ALL CANCERS

MENTAL ILLNESS

Mental Illness

600,000

All Cancers

350,000

Mental Illness = 1.5

times higher than cancer

Workplace burden of mental disorders

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Source: Lim, Jacobs, Ohinmaa, Schopflocher & Dewa, 2008; Wang, Simon & Kessler, 2003; Wang, Beck, Berglund et al., 2004; Mental Health Commission of Canada; Lepine & Briley, 2011

A third of the economic burden in Canada comes from workplace losses

Depression doubles the amount of absenteeism

Mental disorders cost the Canadian economy $51 billion per year

An average of over

27 workdays per yearare lost per depressed employee

Struggling with depression while on the

job reduces productivity by an estimated 12.5%

30% of short and long-term disability claims

are for mental health

But, why so much burden from mental illness?

Burden spans over a long period of time

Mental illness affects individuals at important life stages

Mental illnesses can be recurrent and chronic

Most people don’t reach out for treatment

Stigma

People who reach out for treatment, lack access to effective treatments and there are long wait lists

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Source: Lepine & Briley, 2011

How to really identify and help individuals with mental disorders has been a challenge

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Are mental disorders on the rise?

Are there more Canadians experiencing depression

or other mental disorders than ever before?

Do you think mental disorders will grow in

prevalence in the next 10 to 20 years?

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Are mental disorders on the rise?

Source: Report prepared by RiskAnalytica on behalf of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2011

Overall, no increase in prevalence of mental disorders as a percentage of the population

So, why do we see more absenteeism related to mental health?

The increase in prevalence of mental disorders in the next few decades will follow expected population growth

However, we see an increase in absenteeism and disability claims due to mental disorders

Higher absenteeism & presenteeism due to mental illness may be due to various factors:

Higher acceptance of mental disorders as an illness and a slow reduction of stigma

We call it depression, not back pain or headaches – legal environment allows for proper identification

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Higher absenteeism due to mental illness may be due to various factors:

Prevalence of mental health conditions is higher in the service sector than in other industries

Higher participation of women in the labor force and some conditions such as depression are more prevalent in women than in men

Source: Conference Board of Canada, 2016

Higher absenteeism due to mental illness may be due to various factors:

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Source: http://ontario.cmha.ca/public_policy/the-relationship-between-mental-health-mental-illness-and-chronic-physical-conditions/#.V6qqtmXdvjI and Conference Board of Canada, 2016

Individuals with a

mental disorder are

susceptible to other

conditions, such as

diabetes, heart disease

and even common

colds and flues

Higher percentage

of older workers

may increase rates

of absenteeism

due to physical

health conditions

Prevalence of mental

health conditions is

higher in the service

sector than in other

industries

Higher participation

of women in the

labor force and some

conditions such as

depression are more

prevalent in women

than in men

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There is a disconnect

Source: Conference Board of Canada, 2011 and 2016

Over half of Canadian

employers don’t have a mental

health strategy in place

+50%

Only 3% of Canadian employers

have a stand-alone mental health

policy and more than half do not

have a mental health policy at all

Canadian employers cover an average

of up to 3 psychology treatments

through Extended Health Benefits,

while 9 to 12 are usually needed

Less than a quarter of Canadian employees have

received any information about mental health from their

employer and most would not consider speaking to their

manager, if they ever experienced a mental health issue

Almost half of managers don’t

have any training around how

to manage their employees’

mental health issues

3%

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What does this mean for the workplace?

Significant economic and personal loss

Workplace can have a significant contribution to reducing this loss

But, in reality, Canadian workplaces are lagging in taking action on workplace mental health

Everyone contributes to the solution

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Workplace

mental health

Solutions based on best practices - Employers

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Start adopting the

Standard for

Psychological

Health & Safety

Develop mental

health policy

Provide mental

health training to

managers

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Solutions based on best practices - Employers

Support workplace

accommodations

and manage them

well

Support treatment

Work-focused

Cognitive Behaviour

Therapy

Appoint a Return

to Work

Coordinator or

Disability Manager

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Solutions based on best practices - Employees

Get informed

Active participant

in recovery

Seek treatment early

Talk to physicians, psychologists

about Return to Work

Optimization of

treatment

Need to have

confidence in recovery

Solutions based on best practices - Physicians

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Adopt a

collaborative

care model

Seek training to

better manage

patients on

medical leave

Return to Work is

part of recovery

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Solutions based on best practices - Insurers

L. R. Cornelius, J. J. L. van der Klink, M. R. de Boer, S. Brouwer & J. W. Groothoff, 2016

Those on LTD and suffering from a mental disorder tend to be off work for longer periods and have more severe symptoms

Mental health claims

are particularly

challenging:

3 to 5times higher rates of

anxiety and depression

among employees on LTD

than among the general

working population

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Focus on relapse prevention as much as possible

Sources: P. C. Koopmans, U. Bültmann, C. A. Roelen, R. and Hoedeman,

J. J. van der Klink & J. W. Groothoff, 2011

of workers with mental disorders experience a

relapse of illness and work absence following

a return-to-work attempt

Risk of future absence increases

with history of prior absences

Protective factors against future absences:

Positive recovery expectations

Timely treatment

Good relationship with supervisor

20%

to 30%

SALVEO Study Overview

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2,162 surveyed

workers

63 organizations

Variouscompany sizes

and industries

401employees

provided saliva

samples

Data was collected over a

period of more than

two years

63management

practices analyzed

6case studies

Key Finding #1

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Mental health issues (distress,

depression, burnout) in the workplace

are caused by many factors

Individual

Outside of work

At work

Key Finding #2

Investing in management

practices can make a

significant difference in

reducing costs of mental

health claims

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Key Finding #3

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Organizations that adopt

an integrated profile

targeting workplace

stressors (meso level) and

individuals (micro level)

are more effective than

other profiles in

preventing absenteeism

due to mental health

problems.

Key Finding #4

Investment in health and wellness

management practices is also possible

in small and medium organizations

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Implementing multiple management practices cansignificantly prevent mental health issues

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Healthy workplace

Reduced stress,

mental illness and

claims

Reduced costs and

improved overall

results

Support at all Levels

Individual Level

Educating and bringing

personal awareness.

Helping members attain

and sustain healthier

behaviours

Organizational Level

Building the business

case, helping to align

policies, measuring

success

Managerial Level

Educating and training

managers

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Our Approach

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Initiatives targeting Mental Health issues

Employee Level

Use personal awareness tools and resources

Participate in physical health activities

Learn about available Health and Wellness services, such as their EFAP, and take advantage of them

Participate in continuous training and professional development opportunities

Take advantage of work/life balance options

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Initiatives targeting Mental Health issues

Manager Level

Give employees flexibility in work organization (task design)

Provide more latitude in schedule planning (demands)

Highlight employees’ accomplishments

Direct employees to appropriate resources; for example: their Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP)

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Initiatives targeting Mental Health issues

Organizational Level

Put a rewards program in place

Provide continuous training and professional development programs

Develop work/life balance policies

Implement policies for proactive management of disability records and an efficient return-to-work program

Design anti-stigma campaigns

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Questions & Answers