Failure to Accommodate

A Mental Health Commission of Canada study suggests that accommodating workers living with a mental illness makes financial sense—for both the employees and their employer. Every week in Canada, half a million people call in sick because of a mental health issue.

Unemployment rates for people living with a mental illness can be as high as 90 percent. This reality doesn’t just disadvantage aspiring workers—those people who have been sidelined due to mental illness. It also hurts employers.

Currently, Canada spends about $9.6-billion on disability support for people living with a mental illness who are not working.

The study, A Clear Business Case for Hiring Aspiring Workers, offers a solution. Namely, when employers hire people living with a mental illness and invest in reasonable accommodations, they stand to reap tremendous benefits. These advantages extend to employees too.

The study, released in April 2018, looked at five Canadian businesses, with researchers examining the costs and benefits of accommodating the mental health needs of 11 aspiring workers. The accommodations would include

• flexible work hours,
• compressed work weeks,
• extended lunch hours,
• regular check-ins with management, and
• discretionary use of sick days.

Accommodation would be tailored to the needs of each worker and would be arrived at through clear communication between employer and employee. The study projected that employers who accommodated workers would save between $56,000 and $204,000 after five years—a two-to-seven-fold return on investment. This would be due mainly to decreased absenteeism, lower staff turnover, and increased productivity.

Workers would be 4 to 12 times better off financially because of accommodation, a net win of between $31,000 and $67,000 after five years. This would be due mainly to higher income from sustained employment.

Employers can create healthy, inclusive workplaces, where employees are comfortable disclosing a mental health problem and accommodation is accepted. Workers need to let employers know when they need accommodation. While the employer needs enough information to help, divulging the specific nature of a disability isn’t necessary.

Women and Arthritis

The Toronto-based Institute for Work & Health (IWH) conducted a study comparing how arthritis was accommodated between men and women based on a sample of nearly 500 baby boomers. All participants had a form of arthritis (including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis) that they had been living with for at least one year and were working at least 15 hours per week.

The study found that while men and women had similar symptoms of the disease, women’s accommodation needs often went unmet, largely due to the type of jobs and workplaces women are in—not their health status. More men said the workplace supports actually exceeded their needs.

The disparity may be explained by the number of women in the study who worked in sales and retail jobs or in part-time positions, where benefits are less common. They’re also more likely to report greater job stress, which could mean that potential vulnerabilities are greater for women.

Whether for arthritis, mental health, or other health needs, accommodation is a win-win for employees, employers, and the workplace.

Sources: Institute for Work & Health, Globe and Mail, Mental Health Commission of Canada

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