The 9th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD9) category called "Mental Disorders" includes psychoses, such as schizophrenia, with neurotic disorders, such as depression. Alcohol- and drug-related issues are also included. Even though insurance companies refer to "mental and nervous"conditions, Diseases of the Nervous System are separate and less common in the workplace and include Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, migraine, and disorders of the eye and ear.

 

The Public Health Agency of Canada estimated the burden of mental illnesses at $14.4 billion (2001), ranking about third in cost and equal to cancer. For employers, mental illness is often the highest cost and fastest growing cause of Long Term Disability, representing about 25% of claim costs. In Short Term Disability, these conditions are typically ranked first or second, with musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

 

Causes of depression include a genetic or family history, psychological or emotional vulnerability, imbalances in brain chemistry and in the endocrine/immune systems, and/or a major stress in the person’s life.

 

Mental illnesses are also among the most complicated claims to manage, for two reasons. First, they often occur with other conditions, like heart attacks or cancer, and if mental illness is present, it may not be diagnosed or properly recorded. Those patients so diagnosed do not always get appropriate care, whether drug therapy, psychiatric counselling, and sometimes, hospitalization. Insurance company medical directors often advocate for specialist referral or improved treatment plans.

 

Second, considerable evidence ties the workplace itself to the onset, aggravation, or improvement in the condition. Dr. Martin Shain at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto found that mental and physical health problems were typically two to three times more common in situations such as work overload, lack of control over job responsibilities, inadequate rewards, and poor employee-to-job matching. A 2004 report by Statistics Canada demonstrated that the most important factor affecting the ability of those with bipolar disorder to participate in the workforce was not their access to drugs, physician visits or counselling, but the degree of support they received from colleagues and management, as well as family and friends.

 

Employer policy, programs and practices can make a big difference.

 

News Items

 

Workplace Demons (www.camh.net): According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, a typical workplace with 100 employees has:

Competitive Advantage: In a meeting to present the findings of its Benchmarking Study of Absence Costs (March 2001), Mercer Human Resources Consulting reviewed the costs attributed to absence and disability at 86 Canadian companies. Among the highlights was the finding that within certain industry sectors, the highest quartile cost was more than double the median cost, and three or four times higher than the lowest cost, indicating a distinct source of competitive advantage or disadvantage.

 

The authors drew a powerful conclusion: "Stress management, or attendance management programs focus on the individual’s coping skills or behaviour and rarely address the underlying organizational issues that contribute to these behaviours. Employers should not view absence as solely a disability or health issue. These are BUSINESS issues that require MANAGEMENT action." (emphasis in the original)

 

Canadian CEO Awareness Improving (www.fgiworld.com) In June 2005, FGIworld released the findings of a survey of 114 Canadian CEOs and 622 employees done by Ipsos-Reid. In it, 66% of the CEOs and 71% of employees identified stress, burn-out or other physical and mental health problems as the top issue negatively impacting productivity. Conversely, improved organizational performance was believed to result from training, management practices, access to Employee Assistance Programs, and pay structure and incentives.

 

Conclusion: Mental health issues are on the mind of business leaders because they have a big impact on organizational success. Unfortunately, a persistent, deep-rooted stigma, steady increases in disability claims, and the huge burden of mental illness in Canada all indicate change is slow to occur. Business organizations have yet to widely acknowledge that their actions can affect the health of employees, even though many years of international research indicate leadership, culture, and general management quality play pivotal roles.