Mental health issues in the workplace – the need to reach across disciplines

Mental health issues in the workplace – the need to reach across disciplines

Who doesn’t love a good analogy? I came across a great one just recently. I was on a panel at an Employment Law conference where Mike Hancock of Harris & Company gave the audience a yoga analogy to help define the term “undue hardship.”

Here’s the context. Generally, employers must accommodate employees with mental health issues, but not to the point of undue hardship. But what exactly does “undue hardship” mean? Mike’s analogy was that it was like a yoga class – you could expect some degree of effort and even some mild pain, but not to the point of pulling a muscle or needing weeks of recovery.

What I love about Mike’s analogy is that he is doing what we should all be doing when working across disciplines on a workplace mental health situation – finding a way to communicate that lets us understand each other and, ultimately, work together for the employee and the employer.

There are three areas in particular where I see an opportunity to build better communication bridges when supporting an individual with workplace mental health. They may not require analogies, but they do require a bit of effort and focus by the parties involved.

• Clarity on who is, or could be, involved in a case: It may be a simple question, but it’s also one that is sometimes not asked: who else is involved in this case? While the employer or a case manager is often leading, there may be other professionals involved, and knowing and sharing appropriate information about what areas of treatment are covered, or could be covered, can help us all optimize our recommendations and support. For example, an occupational therapist may be involved in return to work after burnout recovery and could provide much needed support.
• Understanding the roles of others: If workplace mental health is not an area you regularly deal with, and you’re asked to provide information on behalf of a client or patient involved in such a case, knowledge about other roles can help. By gaining information about the roles of other professionals – either by seeking advice from an experienced colleague or by building your knowledge through conferences or continuing education – you can more competently contribute to your client or patient’s wellbeing.
• The right boundaries on information sharing: There are best practices on information sharing that are designed to protect employee privacy while allowing the various stakeholders to work together. For example, with informed consent a psychologist may provide information about workplace limitations to an employer, but often not a diagnosis of the employee’s condition. Especially when working across disciplines, it’s important to know and understand privacy boundaries and be collaborative.

While we’re not there yet in terms of consistently optimal support for employees dealing with mental health issues, our persistent efforts will get us there. If you have any questions or feedback, please let me know.

Looking forward to staying connected!