From lack of sleep to post-traumatic stress disorders, employees are facing a range of challenges that can have an impact on their work. What are some of the causes of mental-health issues and how can employers recognize when an employee is having difficulties?
At the 2017 Mental Health Summit in Vancouver on Dec. 5, experts provided insight into mental-health issues at work and offered up actionable takeaways for how to address them and create a mentally healthy and productive workplace.
Below are some of the highlights of the sessions from the event.
Don’t forget to check out photos from the event in our photo gallery.
A primer on supporting employees with mental illnesses
When a person becomes seriously depressed, the right diagnosis, rapid treatment and followup are critical to a successful recovery and return to work. Yet the stigma around mental illness and limited access to psychiatrists and psychologists can make it difficult to receive proper care.
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Options to optimize mental-health treatments
While medications to treat mental illness are a major source of drug spending, that money may be going to waste if patients don’t take their drugs as prescribed. Presenting at the recent Mental Health Summit Vancouver, Allison Nourse, national director of pharmacy innovation at Pharmasave Drugs Ltd., explored the ways community pharmacists can optimize medications and improve adherence to drug therapy.
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Finding a path to effective collaboration between insurers, health professionals
To get people back to work after being off with a mental illness, the whole system — including physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and insurers — need to engage in a collaborative effort to ensure individuals get the correct diagnosis and treatment with a focus on returning to the workplace.
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Sleep a serious issue with major productivity costs for employers
Sleep is a serious issue. That was a key message from Nadeem Rajabali, western Canada regional vice-president of business development for group and business insurance at Desjardins Insurance, at the recent Mental Health Summit in Vancouver.
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A primer on supporting employees struggling with traumatic events
Ongoing exposure to trauma can have a dramatic impact on members of the military and first responders, Andy MacDonald, a consultant to the first responder community for Homewood Health Inc., said at the recent Mental Health Summit held in Vancouver.
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Reinventing support for Canadians with mental illness
Many Canadian workers who experience a mental illness face barriers and obstacles when it comes to diagnosis, treatment and returning to work. But new virtual programs show there are steps employers can take to help employees get well and back to work.
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