Workplace Wellness: Road Map To Disability Management

Disability Management

Many managers and team leaders, like yours, still don’t have the understanding or the resources to help employees after they have taken leave for depression, anxiety, addiction or other mental-health issues. Thousands of workers each year do not return to work and end up on permanent disability because of this lack of understanding on disability management.

Previously, stigma and a lack of knowledge, prevented many workplace health and safety programs from including mental-health issues. More than a decade ago, the Global Business and Economic Roundtable Roadmap to Disability Management, presented a wide range of recommendations for detecting mental illness, and reducing the workplace factors that could cause or contribute to it. It placed more responsibility on employers in helping mentally disabled employees return to work.

The longer those experiencing a #mental #health issue stay away from work, the more difficult it is for them to return Beverly Beuermann-King Click to tweet

Among their key recommendations, were that:

Employers have to take responsibility for reducing job stress that can double the risk of worker disability associated with depression, and should make detection and treatment programs a priority.
Employers and supervisors must be held responsible for helping employees who take mental-health leaves return to full-time work.
Employees should be welcomed back unequivocally, without immediate reference to any performance or behaviour issues that occurred in the pre-disability period.
Return should be a gradual process. Managers must allow for flexibility in scheduling and expectations to let employees move back to full responsibilities at their own pace.
Job stress and home stress are linked, and family, co-workers and friends should be involved in the return-to-work process.

However, even after a decade, many managers and organizations are still inexperienced and untrained in handling mental health issues.

So, what can you do as the employer?

TRAIN your team leaders so that they know what to look for, how to ensure a psychologically health and safe workplace and how to facilitate a return-to-work.

Tips on easing the return

Consult with the employee to see if any of these tips may help ease the strain and stress of returning to the workplace:

Offer flexible or part-time scheduling and self-paced workloads
Try to provide a work setting near a source of natural light and with low noise levels
Use written job instructions if the employee is feeling confused
Make daily “to do” lists and check items off as they are completed
Both manager and employee should remind each other of important deadlines
Agree to open communication and perhaps discreet hand signals to indicate unwelcome stress is building up
Discuss whether some times of day are better or more stressful for the employee
Don’t make large demands on Mondays, which can often be hectic in many workplaces
Divide large assignments into smaller tasks and goals
Allow for frequent breaks
Look for opportunities to provide positive feedback
Isolation deepens depression. Make sure the employee is treated as a member of the team and not excluded from business meetings, social events or activities relevant to the job
Do not be overly protective

Questions Does your company do a good job of helping employees return to work?
Is there a stigma around mental health leave in your company?
Do you know how to refer someone who may be having mental health issues? L

If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!