Post by Banker on Mar 9, 2012 8:06:07 GMT 7
The numbers are staggering. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 45 per cent of people will endure a mental illness at some stage in their life. And with one in five Australians suffering each year, it’s inevitable that eventually all managers will have to deal with one of the most delicate issues in the workplace.
It’s not uncommon for mental illness to be blamed for poor performance. When an employee’s sales are down, for example, it’s because he’s depressed. Or if someone’s customer service is deteriorating, it’s because she has an anxiety disorder. It’s very easy for mental illness to be the culprit.
It could be, though, that the mental illness has nothing to do with the poor performance. Alternative causes might be a lack of training, a manager that can’t motivate, or something in the work environment inhibiting productivity.
It’s also true that millions of people go to work and perform brilliantly without anyone realising that they’re psychologically tormented behind the scenes.
But, occasionally, an employee’s struggles at work are related to struggles of the mind. I once had an employee who’d habitually return late from lunch – sometimes up to an hour late – because he’d be at the pub compulsively playing the pokies. And a business owner recently told me about a lady in her team whose diagnosed panic disorder prevented her from hearing customer complaints – and this was in an industry where complaints were endemic.
Boston University’s Centre for Psychiatric Rehabilitation pinpoints some potential problems (and possible solutions) for managers of mentally ill people:
If an employee is unable to block out external stimuli such as sounds, install partitions around their desk and allow them to wear headphones.
If an employee has trouble maintaining stamina or concentration, it might help to enforce regular breaks and to split tasks into smaller chunks.
If an employee has problems interacting with colleagues, a mentoring program or ‘co-worker buddy relationship’ may be effective.
It’s an issue employers can’t ignore. An analysis by the Mental Health Council of Australia reported that businesses lose $6.5 billion a year by failing to provide assistance to mentally ill employees. That gives employers a quantitative reason to deal with the problem in addition to the compassionate one.
Dr Moira Jenkins, a leading specialist and researcher in this field, told me “managers have a legal obligation to accommodate an employee’s disability – whether that be mental, intellectual or physical. That is, they must do everything that is reasonably practical to assist them to do their job".
‘Reasonably practical’ is determined on a case-by-case basis, and allowances are made for the limited capacities of small businesses compared to the resources of large corporations. Still, all employers must be careful. Managers who treat mentally ill employees unfairly may inadvertently be discriminating against them, says Dr Jenkins, and that goes against the Disability Discrimination Act.
“In saying this, if an employee’s disability … is making them or others unsafe, or is so extensive that they cannot carry out the inherent requirements of their job safely, then they should not be working.”
She suggests communication and flexibility are paramount. Managers should feel comfortable asking mentally ill employees to open up about their needs, and to discuss how the organisation can assist them.
Assistant Professor Vikki Knott, from the University of Canberra, agrees. “Managers need to be supportive of all employees and ensure that they provide an environment that is free of workplace bullying and that the demands placed upon them are reasonable,” she says.
This includes giving employees control over how they work, a greater work/life balance, and becoming more “literate around issues of mental health” so that appropriate medical referrals are made.
“The one thing we don’t want to do as a society is to create further stigma around the issue of mental illness. Of those Australians experiencing mental illness, only a proportion seeks help. This can have dire consequences,” says Professor Knott.
Read more: www.smh.com.au/small-business/blogs/work-in-progress/working-towards-peace-of-mind-20120308-1unha.html#ixzz1oZqAEXmL
It’s not uncommon for mental illness to be blamed for poor performance. When an employee’s sales are down, for example, it’s because he’s depressed. Or if someone’s customer service is deteriorating, it’s because she has an anxiety disorder. It’s very easy for mental illness to be the culprit.
It could be, though, that the mental illness has nothing to do with the poor performance. Alternative causes might be a lack of training, a manager that can’t motivate, or something in the work environment inhibiting productivity.
It’s also true that millions of people go to work and perform brilliantly without anyone realising that they’re psychologically tormented behind the scenes.
But, occasionally, an employee’s struggles at work are related to struggles of the mind. I once had an employee who’d habitually return late from lunch – sometimes up to an hour late – because he’d be at the pub compulsively playing the pokies. And a business owner recently told me about a lady in her team whose diagnosed panic disorder prevented her from hearing customer complaints – and this was in an industry where complaints were endemic.
Boston University’s Centre for Psychiatric Rehabilitation pinpoints some potential problems (and possible solutions) for managers of mentally ill people:
If an employee is unable to block out external stimuli such as sounds, install partitions around their desk and allow them to wear headphones.
If an employee has trouble maintaining stamina or concentration, it might help to enforce regular breaks and to split tasks into smaller chunks.
If an employee has problems interacting with colleagues, a mentoring program or ‘co-worker buddy relationship’ may be effective.
It’s an issue employers can’t ignore. An analysis by the Mental Health Council of Australia reported that businesses lose $6.5 billion a year by failing to provide assistance to mentally ill employees. That gives employers a quantitative reason to deal with the problem in addition to the compassionate one.
Dr Moira Jenkins, a leading specialist and researcher in this field, told me “managers have a legal obligation to accommodate an employee’s disability – whether that be mental, intellectual or physical. That is, they must do everything that is reasonably practical to assist them to do their job".
‘Reasonably practical’ is determined on a case-by-case basis, and allowances are made for the limited capacities of small businesses compared to the resources of large corporations. Still, all employers must be careful. Managers who treat mentally ill employees unfairly may inadvertently be discriminating against them, says Dr Jenkins, and that goes against the Disability Discrimination Act.
“In saying this, if an employee’s disability … is making them or others unsafe, or is so extensive that they cannot carry out the inherent requirements of their job safely, then they should not be working.”
She suggests communication and flexibility are paramount. Managers should feel comfortable asking mentally ill employees to open up about their needs, and to discuss how the organisation can assist them.
Assistant Professor Vikki Knott, from the University of Canberra, agrees. “Managers need to be supportive of all employees and ensure that they provide an environment that is free of workplace bullying and that the demands placed upon them are reasonable,” she says.
This includes giving employees control over how they work, a greater work/life balance, and becoming more “literate around issues of mental health” so that appropriate medical referrals are made.
“The one thing we don’t want to do as a society is to create further stigma around the issue of mental illness. Of those Australians experiencing mental illness, only a proportion seeks help. This can have dire consequences,” says Professor Knott.
Read more: www.smh.com.au/small-business/blogs/work-in-progress/working-towards-peace-of-mind-20120308-1unha.html#ixzz1oZqAEXmL