Mental Illness – two words that trigger a social stigma for many within the community.
The reality is that ignoring it, pretending it’s not an issue or turning our backs on it will not make it go away. We each have a social responsibility to understand its underlying causes so that we are better prepared to offer support mechanisms to those who need it.
It might interest you to know that around one in five Australians will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. That’s an incredible statistic. While some people have a long term mental illness, many may have mental illness for a relatively short period of time and most of us will experience a mental health issue at some time in our lives, or, be in close contact with someone who has experienced mental illness.
What is mental illness?
Mental illness is a health issue that can significantly affect how a person feels, thinks, behaves and interacts with other people. Mental illness is real and it is treatable.
What are the types of mental illness?
Mental illness is a general term that refers to a group of illnesses including, but not limited to:
- Mood disorders (such as depression and bipolar disorder)
- Anxiety disorders
- Psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia and some forms of bipolar disorder).
Each person experiences mental illness differently. For one person, it may occur, stop and re-occur, while another might recover completely. There are a range of treatments available that enable many people with mental illness to function successfully in their private and work lives.
Common conditions like depression and anxiety may impact on work performance, so it’s a good idea to think about how you manage mental health issues within your business and develop appropriate and empathetic support structures for your team members.
Workers may develop a mental illness prior to employment or during employment and many will successfully manage their illness without it impacting on their work. Research shows that every dollar spent on identifying, supporting and case-managing workers with mental health issues yields close to a 500% return in improved productivity (through increased work output and reduced sick and other leave). The vast majority of workers with mental illness succeed in their chosen career while managing their mental illness.
While some might choose to disclose their mental illness if they require workplace support, others may chose not to disclose their illness if they feel that they don’t require any workplace support or fear an adverse reaction.
As a business and an employer, managing mental health within your business will help you:
- reduce staff absenteeism and working days lost each year
- increase productivity in your workplace
- create a mentally safe and healthy work place
- abide by work health and safety laws, which require employers to take reasonable steps to make their workplaces mentally safe and healthy.
Effective, productive healthy and safe workplaces are ones that:
- Identify and implement workplace support and adjustments to meet individual worker’s needs.
- Implement effective, long term broader organisational strategies to create an inclusive and flexible workplace.
These should respond to the particular needs or issues of a worker and can include:
- Offering flexible working arrangements (e.g. job rotation, variable start and finish times)
- Changing some aspects of the job or work tasks (e.g. exchanging a single demanding project for a job consisting of a number of smaller tasks)
- Changing the workplace or work area (e.g. moving a worker to a quieter work area)
- Purchasing or modifying equipment.
What are my responsibilities when a worker has not disclosed their mental illness?
A worker may choose not to disclose their mental illness to you even when it is evident that they are not coping in the workplace. Where a worker may be having difficulty performing the key requirements of their job, and this might be related to mental illness, it would be prudent for you to:
- Ask if there is any assistance or workplace adjustment that could assist the worker in performing their job
- Offer the choice of seeking confidential support from an Employee Assistance Program or equivalent outside professional advice.
What is my role if a workers mental illness impacts on other work colleagues?
There may be some situations where it is obvious that a worker with mental illness is not coping. It is important to be empathic but to also realise that in some situations the impact of a workers mental illness in the workplace may be stressful for, or results in concerns by work colleagues. When a worker with mental illness behaves in an unusual or disturbing way, colleagues may become stressed, concerned or unsure about what to do.
It is important not to breach workers privacy by telling colleagues about their mental illness unless the worker has agreed that you can do so. Even when permission has been given, the purpose for disclosing a workers mental illness to colleagues should be carefully considered.
While respecting the privacy of the worker with mental illness you should:
- Provide support to work colleagues to address workload concerns (as you would for any other worker who is absent or not performing at their normal level for health reasons)
- Discuss concerns of work colleagues and try to resolve them
- Ensure the safety of workers
- Provide counselling or other support, such as access to an Employee Assistance Program.
Where the worker with mental illness has agreed that their disability can be disclosed to the workplace you could also:
- Provide information to work colleagues about the nature of the mental illness and encourage them to be supportive
- Arrange for a mental health service to provide information and or training.
Mental Illness can generate misunderstanding, confusion and sometimes fear.
As an Employer, you may have preconceived views about employing or working with people with mental illness however recognising and promoting mental health is an essential part of creating a safe and healthy workplace.
Employers and workers both have roles to play in building and maintaining a safe work environment, one that will not create or exacerbate mental health problems and where workers with mental illness are properly supported.
For further information please refer to the Fact Sheet on page 9 of the 2010 Workers with mental illness – A Practical Guide for Managers –
