The challenges of employee mental illness are undeniable. Not only does mental illness affect your employees’ wellbeing, but corporate wellness can suffer as a result of increases in absenteeism, a decline in workplace productivity, and even risk of litigation. This is why you need to establish a psychologically healthy workplace, as outlined in the new standard on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
If you’re operating a psychologically healthy workplace, this means that you are actively seeking to prevent harm to employee psychological health (which includes negligent, reckless or intentional ways) and promote their psychological wellness. At an Employee Assistance Programme Association of Toronto event last week, Krista Hiddema, co-founder of e2r Solutions, commented, ‘While today we are talking about a voluntary standard, I’m personally of the view that it will become a legislative standard.’
But is it really that serious a problem? According to Hiddema, the recent release of the DSM-5 (the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) has heightened the impact that employee mental illness will have on employers, as the DSM-5 has expanded what falls under psychological illness to include bereavement, for example. According to Hiddema, ‘Claims could go up because of new definitions of psychological illness,’ and this idea of ‘everything is an illness’ will become a little frustrating for employers.
There’s a moral element to establishing a psychologically healthy workplace, as looking after your employee’s psychological wellbeing is a key element of being a responsible employer. Hiddema explained, ‘A huge portion of our lives and self-esteem comes from our workplace and how we’re treated in the workplace.’ Plus, there’s a legal factor at play here: a report by the Vancouver Board of Trade noted that, since 2004, there has been a 700% increase in the number of court-awarded settlements due to mental injury in the workplace.
While you’re not obliged to do anything for your employee’s mental health, Hiddema urged, ‘Being proactive and getting ready now will reduce litigation and you’re getting ahead of the curve.’ The P6 framework can help you do exactly that, based on a six-step process of policy, planning, promotion, prevention, process and persistence. Hiddema explained that the framework is ‘an extension on what your organisation’s likely already doing, and because this is a voluntary standard, there’s nothing stopping you from doing just P1 [policy] and P6 [persistence].’ She added, ‘Just because you can’t do everything, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything.’
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