Since bill 168 was introduced in June 2010, which amended the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act to strengthen protections for workers against workplace violence and harassment, there has been a marked increase in legal investigations into related complaints, explains Kevin Robinson, a lawyer with Bernardi Human Resources Law in Mississauga, Ont.
Robinson, speaking about the legal duty to accommodate stress, addictions and mental health at the 2011 Human Resources Professionals Association Conference last week, said that in many investigations he has conducted, one or more parties have had existing stressors inside or outside the workplace, and often have mental health issues. Given this, he said, it’s increasingly important for employers to ensure they create a working environment that reduces stress and pays attention to mental health concerns.
Mental health at work
In Canada, half a million people are absent from work each day because of mental health issues. In total, mental health costs the Canadian economy $51 billion annually, and Robinson says that figure doesn’t necessarily account for presenteeism or the lowered productivity of those suffering from mental health issues who do come into work.
Robinson said that while employers can’t control a person’s biological reaction to a situation, they can control factors that lead to stressful conditions. He suggests employers look at the kind of environment being created. Find ways to reduce overwork, gaps in communication and inappropriate supervision of employees—the types of situations that most often lead to workplace stress and can trigger mental health issues in those with existing conditions.
“Employers can help control the amount of stress on particular individuals who may not be capable of dealing with as much stress as others. That, I think, is a real key to accommodating these issues, and actually preventing them,” he said.
He says that while stress is a normal part of work, and most people can deal with reasonably high levels of stress, those with mental health conditions may be more likely to struggle in such situations.
When an employee is already dealing with a mental health issue but is managing to come into work, despite how they may be feeling, Robinson says layering on workplace issues such as difficulty in communication, ineffective supervision, unclear objectives and expectations or deadlines, can cause real turmoil for the someone dealing with a mental health issue.
The employer’s role
According to Robinson, managers and HR departments need to ensure employees understand that there is an open-door policy to discuss workplace stresses. This will make it easier for those dealing with mental health issues to come forward. Also, he said, if an employee comes forward with a concern, managers need to deal with it as it arises, rather than pretending the problem doesn’t exist and expecting it to change on its own.
He spoke about the concept of “no willful blindness.”
“You can’t pretend, when there’s obvious behaviour in the workplace, that you don’t see it,” said Robinson. This means recognizing and dealing with instances of workplace harassment, as well as keeping an eye out for changes in an employee such as increased absences and diminished productivity that could indicate an emerging problem.
Robinson said that while ensuring a workplace environment where stress is minimized as much as possible is an important first step, training to ensure managers have the knowledge needed to spot potential stress and/or mental health-related workplace issues before they happen and increasing employee sensitivity to coworkers’ potential mental health issues is equally important.
While putting appropriate tools in place to mitigate cases of mental-health related incidents in the workplace can be time-consuming and require a financial commitment, Robinson reminded everyone that the alternative is days lost to productivity, and potentially even lawsuits in cases where an employee feels their situation was ignored.
“That’s far worse than managing the situation at the front end. In my view, not only is it good practice, I think it makes good economic sense to be on top of these things.”
Practical tips
Robinson offered these suggestions to employer looking to increase the psychological safety of their workplace.
- Offer an EAP program: This can enable employees who are dealing with stress and/or mental health concerns to quickly access professional help if its needed.
- Be consistent with HR policies: Documented policies and procedures from HR can help ensure that concerns of workplace bullying or harrassment are dealt with efficiently and consistently in all departments, and that these concerns are escalated through the organization in a coordinated way.
- Communicate with employees on leave: If an employee chooses to take a mental health or stress-related leave, management and/or HR should maintain contact with the affected employee during the course of that leave. This will ensure communication and trust is maintained between employee and employer, and allow the employer to maintain the employee’s progress, ensuring a smoother post-leave transition back into the workplace.