Mental Health in the Workplace… What Can You Do?

Recently I talked about authenticity during employee hardships. With recent events in the news, including the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, I wanted to dive deeper into how employers can help employees in need.

Mental health is an ever-growing concern in our nation. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness:

• Approximately 1 in 5 adults (43.5 millions) in the U.S. experience mental illness in a given year.
• One in 25 of those Americans suffer a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
• 9% of adults in the U.S. have had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
• 1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as PTSD, OCD, or specific phobias.

With mental illness so prevalent in our nation, what can employers do to help employees who suffer from mental illness?

1. Understand, and make sure employees understand, what mental health benefits are covered under your health insurance plan. Going over the benefits coverage annually during open enrollment is a perfect time to educate employees on what is covered. If an employee comes to you, remind them that their insurance includes coverage for mental health services.
2. If you don’t already have one, consider adding an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to your benefits package. Employees can contact the EAP confidentially, receive immediate counseling services for work related or personal issues, and if needed, the EAP will assist the employee with finding a mental health professional in their local area. Employers see an increase in productivity, reduced time off, reduced turnover, reduction in work related injuries, and more. It’s a win-win.
3. Listen. Listen to your employees and take what they say seriously. If you have an employee who comes to you concerned about a co-worker, don’t take their concern lightly. If an employee comes to you to discuss a problem they are having, take the time to sit and really hear what they have to say. Sometimes all that is needed is someone to listen and show compassion. Sometimes more is needed, and that is when #1 and #2 may come in handy.
4. Understand that sometimes it is bigger than you. There may be cases in which you aren’t equipped to help. I once called the local police and had them conduct a welfare check on an employee who showed signs of extreme mental distress and made an insinuative comment to a coworker one day before leaving work about what he’d do if he had a gun. (I had also provided this employee with information on his mental health coverage and the EAP).

There are also many programs and resources that employees can access within their communities, as well as online. These include:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline- 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
• Alabama Department of Mental Health- 1-800-367-0955
• National Alliance on Mental Health- 1-800-950-NAMI
• Project Semicolon- projectsemicolon.com

Remember that mental illness may be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If an employee comes forward with their mental illness and requests accommodations, be sure to follow your organization’s ADA accommodation request procedures. If an employee needs to take leave for a mental illness, be sure to see if they qualify for leave under FMLA.

For more information on mental health in the workplace, check out the Center for Workplace Mental Health.