Managing Employee Mental Health: Legal, Ethical, and Practical Considerations

1. Developing capabilities for managing employee mental health in the workplaceModule 1: Introduction & background Tasmanian School of Business and Economics

2. Learning Objectives: • Define and explain mental health and mental illness • Examine the prevalence of mental health issues in the Australian workplace • Consider the legal and ethical obligations managers have to deal with mental health issues in the workplace • Identify the symptoms of depression and anxiety

3. Ground Rules and Expectations • Discussions about mental health conditions and situations involving workplace mental health may be sensitive for some participants • Any participant who feels distressed as a result of discussing mental health issues is encouraged to speak with the facilitator • During today’s discussions people may choose to disclose experiences of workplace mental health – we ask that you don’t mention employers or employees by name • Please respect the confidentiality of discussions arising from this workshop.

4. Reflective / Discussion Questions • Define the term ‘mental health’ in your own words. • Do you think there are any reasons managers/organisations should be concerned with employee mental health? • Do you think there are any reasons managers/organisations should not be concerned with employee mental health? • Would you have any areas of concern related to managing an employee who has a mental health issue?

5. What is Mental Health? Mental health is defined as: • “a positive sense of well-being; • Individual resources including self-esteem, optimism, and sense of mastery and coherence; and • the ability to initiate, develop and sustain mutually satisfying personal relationships; and the ability to cope with adversity (resilience).” (Mental Health First Aid, England, 2013 p 3) Mental illness is a health issue which can significantly influence how people feel, think and behave. The term ‘mental illness’ is commonly used to refer to diagnosable conditions such as: • mood disorders (e.g depression, bipolar disorder) • anxiety disorders (e.g post traumatic stress disorder, social phobia) • psychotic disorders (e.g. schizophrenia). (Australian Human Rights Commission 2010 p 7)

6. Common Mental Health Conditions • Depression - persistent, severe mood change & negative feelings. • Symptoms can include: • Low energy • Loss of interest in things that would normally be enjoyable • Loss of confidence • Feelings of hopelessness • Difficulty concentrating • Changes in sleep & appetite • Observable symptoms include: • Socially withdrawn, less productive, indecisive, poor concentration, low mood, reduced motivation, tiredness, reduced confidence.

7. Common Mental Health Conditions • Anxiety - excessive and unrealistic feelings of worry and/or dread. • Symptoms can include: • Feeling ‘keyed up’ or on edge • Increased worry • Poor sleep/difficulty relaxing • Headaches/Neck Aches • Trembling, dizzy spells • Irritable • Anxiety and depression commonly occur together and are associated with increased substance abuse • Effective treatments are available for anxiety and depression

8. Tasmanian School of Business and Economics • Mental health in the workplace • 1 in 4 adults have a diagnosable mental health condition • 50% do not seek professional help • Reduced motivation, concentration, decision making capacity, impaired interpersonal functioning = poor work performance • Depression is the leading cause of disability • Organisational cost = $48.9 billion AUD p.a. • (beyondblue; http://www.beyondblue.org.au/resources/in-the-workplace/for-organisations-and-businesses/the-business-case-for-taking-action)

9. Mental Health in the Workplace • Recent Australian studies indicate: • 68% managers have worked with or managed an employee with a mental health condition (Shann et al., 2014) • BUT only 25% managers receive training about MH in the workplace (Martin, 2010) • Managers need both conceptual and procedural knowledge to respond effectively to employee mental health issues (Martin et al, 2014) • Legal/ethical obligations: “the employer is not expected to be a diagnostician [however] the situation [should not be made] worse by clumsy and inappropriate actions or intrusive inquiries.”(Shain, 2010; p.10

10. Mental Health and Corporate Social Responsibility • Mental health problems are the result of a complex interplay between biological, psychological, social and environmental factors. There is increasing evidence that both the content and context of work can play a role in the development of mental health problems in the workplace. Organisational strategies needed to address this include: • increasing employee awareness of mental health issues; • supporting employees at risk; • providing treatment for employees with a mental health problem; • changing the organization of work • reintegrating employees with a mental health problem into the workplace.

11. References/Readings Australian Human Rights Commission. 2010. Workers with Mental Illness: a Practical Guide for Managers. Mental Health First Aid England. 2013. Line Managers’ resource. London: Mental Health First Aid England. Shain, M. (2010). Tracking the perfect legal storm: Converging systems create mounting pressure to create the psychologically safe workplace. Calgary, CA, Mental Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved 1 August 2013 fromhttp://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/node/506 Health and Safety Executive (2007). Line Managers’ Resource: A practical guide to managing and supporting people with mental health problems in the workplace. World Health Organisation (2005). Mental health policies and programmes in the workplace. Mental Health Policy and Service: Geneva.

12. References/Readings Martin, A. (2010), ‘Individual and contextual correlates of managers’attitudes towards depressed employees,’Human Resource Management, 49, 647-668. Martin, A., Woods, M. & Dawkins, S. (2014). Managing employees with mental health issues: Identification of conceptual and procedural knowledge for development within management education curricula. Academy of Management Learning and Education. Published online before print January 8, 2014, doi: 10.5465/amle.2012.0287 Shann, C., Martin, A. and Chester, A. (2014), ‘Improving Workplace Mental Health: A Training Needs Analysis to Inform beyondblue’s Online Resource for Leaders,’ Asia Pacific Journal of HRM. Do: 10.1111/1744-7941.12032 LaMontagne, A. D, Martin, A., Page, K., Reavley, N. J., Noblet, A. J., Milner, A. J., Keegel, T. & Smith, P. M. (2014). Workplace mental health: Developing an integrated intervention approach. BMC Psychiatry. In press..

13. More Information & Resources • Lifeline crisis support https://www.lifeline.org.au • Beyondblue • Depression support and information • E-learning programs to aid awareness of common mental health disorders, early intervention and prevention specifically designed for workplace settings www.beyondblue.org.au • Australian Human Rights Commission - 1300 656 419 Information related to Federal legislation on human rights, anti-discrimination, social justice and privacy humanrights.gov.au

14. Job Access – 1800 464 800 Information for coworkers, employees and employers on how to assist people with disabilities to obtain or maintain employment jobaccess.gov.au • Safe Work Australia Leads the development of national policy to improve work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au • Work Cover – please add the details for your state’s Work Cover office • Work Place Standards – please add the details for your state’s Work Place Standards office • Fair Work Act - please add the link to your state’s Fair Work Act • Anti-Discrimination Act - please add the link to your state’s Anti-Discrimination Act