About one in five Canadians will suffer from mental health issues, and although many manage it on their own, the topic of mental illness remains taboo and hidden from employers and coworkers because of their personal nature.

“About 10 per cent of the working population in Canada has a mental disorder, which is responsible for about $17 billion in productivity losses each year.” says Dr. Carolyn Dewa, CAMH’s head of the work and well-being research and evaluation program and conference chair. “That’s why it’s crucial that companies that want to attract and keep workers acknowledge and address the work environment and provide necessary supports to ensure the health and well-being of their employees.”

About one in five Canadians will suffer from mental health issues, and although many manage it on their own, the topic of mental illness remains taboo and hidden from employers and coworkers because of their personal nature.

“About 10 per cent of the working population in Canada has a mental disorder, which is responsible for about $17 billion in productivity losses each year.” says Dr. Carolyn Dewa, CAMH’s head of the work and well-being research and evaluation program and conference chair. “That’s why it’s crucial that companies that want to attract and keep workers acknowledge and address the work environment and provide necessary supports to ensure the health and well-being of their employees.”

 “In automotive plants, for example, it’s usually male dominant, they’re tough… they don’t want to talk about their feelings,” says Sari Sairanen, national health and safety director for the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union.

Breaking down the communication barrier is imperative.

“Over the years, mental health has never been something that people have felt comfortable talking about,” says Karen Seward, executive vice-president of business development and marketing at Shepell fgi, a workplace health and productivity solutions provider. “I think the barrier around it is the stigma of it being mental and cognitive, that makes it harder for people to understand it.”

 

Seward says companies can help by having the managers be aware of mental health issues, look for the signs and symptoms and be able to help support employees. It’s important for managers to know what resources are available to support someone suffering from a mental illness.

“What we find is two things: either people won’t talk about it in the work place or conversely, people who’ve been diagnosed leave the workplace because it’s too hard for them to explain it and get a support system internally,” says Seward.

In 1999, General Motors Canada established its Motoring to Wellness program and Ford Motor Co. launched its Drive for Wellness. These sites offer mental health information, quizzes, self assessments and contests. They engage the employees and open up dialogue on these issues.

Both GM and Ford offer wellness rooms where employees can pick up information.

By supplying the appropriate resources—through a web site, employee information room, newsletters or by training supervisors on how to identify mental health issues—getting the appropriate help for employees before issues escalate.
Appropriate return to work strategies should be used to ease the transition and ensure the health and safety of the employees.

For a company like Direct Energy, it’s a bit more challenging to encourage dialogue because half of its staff is out in the field.

To engage its employees in mental health awareness and coping strategies, Direct Energy launched workhealthlife.com and an employee assistance program.

James Temple, Direct Energy’s manager of corporate donations, says they aim to break down the stigma of mental illness through employee engagement. Employees were invited to a day at CAMH where they could interact with people suffering from mental health illnesses.

Deanna Matzanke, the director of global employment strategies for Scotiabank, says the company has integrated wellness strategies into the policy framework, focus on work life balance and offer a counselling support program to help employees with stress, anxiety and depression.

The bank offers a mental health first aid for managers to help them recognize symptomatic behaviour and offer tools to the employees.

But confidentiality and getting employees to confide in management about mental health issues remains a touchy issue.

 “It’s a challenge. That’s why it’s important to break down those barriers through education and raising awareness. People may not know that some of the symptoms they’re feeling—isolation, lethargy, disconnection—are not signs of a healthy life,” says Sairanen. “People don’t need to ask on the shop floor, employees can be referred to outside agencies. But in the world we live in, this is a privacy issue. If you do it wrong once, you will lose the engagement and connectivity you will have with your workers.

 

The duty of all employers is to offer a healthy and safe work environment. Investing in their workforce will help with employee retention and promote a healthier productive economy.

 “In automotive plants, for example, it’s usually male dominant, they’re tough… they don’t want to talk about their feelings,” says Sari Sairanen, national health and safety director for the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union.

Breaking down the communication barrier is imperative.

“Over the years, mental health has never been something that people have felt comfortable talking about,” says Karen Seward, executive vice-president of business development and marketing at Shepell fgi, a workplace health and productivity solutions provider. “I think the barrier around it is the stigma of it being mental and cognitive, that makes it harder for people to understand it.”

Seward says companies can help by having the managers be aware of mental health issues, look for the signs and symptoms and be able to help support employees. It’s important for managers to know what resources are available to support someone suffering from a mental illness.

“What we find is two things: either people won’t talk about it in the work place or conversely, people who’ve been diagnosed leave the workplace because it’s too hard for them to explain it and get a support system internally,” says Seward.

In 1999, General Motors Canada established its Motoring to Wellness program and Ford Motor Co. launched its Drive for Wellness. These sites offer mental health information, quizzes, self assessments and contests. They engage the employees and open up dialogue on these issues.

Both GM and Ford offer wellness rooms where employees can pick up information.

By supplying the appropriate resources—through a web site, employee information room, newsletters or by training supervisors on how to identify mental health issues—getting the appropriate help for employees before issues escalate.
Appropriate return to work strategies should be used to ease the transition and ensure the health and safety of the employees.

For a company like Direct Energy, it’s a bit more challenging to encourage dialogue because half of its staff is out in the field.

To engage its employees in mental health awareness and coping strategies, Direct Energy launched workhealthlife.com and an employee assistance program.

James Temple, Direct Energy’s manager of corporate donations, says they aim to break down the stigma of mental illness through employee engagement. Employees were invited to a day at CAMH where they could interact with people suffering from mental health illnesses.

 

Deanna Matzanke, the director of global employment strategies for Scotiabank, says the company has integrated wellness strategies into the policy framework, focus on work life balance and offer a counselling support program to help employees with stress, anxiety and depression.

The bank offers a mental health first aid for managers to help them recognize symptomatic behaviour and offer tools to the employees.

But confidentiality and getting employees to confide in management about mental health issues remains a touchy issue.

 “It’s a challenge. That’s why it’s important to break down those barriers through education and raising awareness. People may not know that some of the symptoms they’re feeling—isolation, lethargy, disconnection—are not signs of a healthy life,” says Sairanen. “People don’t need to ask on the shop floor, employees can be referred to outside agencies. But in the world we live in, this is a privacy issue. If you do it wrong once, you will lose the engagement and connectivity you will have with your workers.

The duty of all employers is to offer a healthy and safe work environment. Investing in their workforce will help with employee retention and promote a healthier productive economy.