Employers are well aware that depression and other mental health issues presently cost Canadian businesses more than $20.7 billion a year and are expected to cost $29.2 billion by 2030, according to data from the Conference Board of Canada.
What employers need are affordable, practical and effective tools to support employees and thus maintain productivity.
At Benefits Canada’s 2013 Mental Health Summit in Toronto last week, new research, new perspectives and new tools to help better manage mental health issues—depression in particular—were presented.
Participants heard why it’s essential that front-line managers be trained to recognize signs of possible mental health problems and how to steer employees to the appropriate resources. But employees can also have a powerful effect, as is the case with a successful and cost-effective peer-support program created by the Halifax Professional Firefighters Benefits Trust.
Employees also need information, and the “new normal” for most people is to seek medical information online. Summit presenters shared ways that organizations can help guide employees to reputable online resources by establishing their own social media and mobile health presence.
However, access to information, early diagnosis and treatment are only half of the equation.
Employees returning to work after dealing with a mental health issue are also coping with a new normal, as many continue experiencing cognitive difficulties. Speakers stressed that organizations should think less about returning an individual to work and more about returning him or her to full functionality and looked at a broad array of strategies and accommodations.
Look for full summit coverage in the January 2014 issue of Benefits Canada.
Moira Potter is a freelance writer based in Toronto.