Employee Mental Health: The Diversity Issue No One Talks About

Inclusion is the only accessible way to build diversity within an organization. An inclusive workplace is defined as a working environment that values the individual and group differences and enables a company to embrace the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives of the employees. On this regard, inclusiveness requires a cultural shift in order to be able to handle some sensitive issues, such as disabilities or other subtle condition. But of all disability types, mental health is still one of the most invisible, stigmatized, and misunderstood.

According to a U.S. National Comorbidity Survey, a study of Americans employees between the ages 15 and 54, 18 percent of them said that they had “experienced symptoms of a mental health disorder in the previous month". The most common disorders reported were depression, stress and anxiety, and substance abuse. Hence, between 2003 and 2013, there was a 56 percent increase in depression-related issues and workplace discrimination claims.

Although human resource professionals are expected to be properly trained to address issues relative to the employment and individuals’ disabilities, especially in the mental health area.

I believe that a major part of de-stigmatization of mental health and related disabilities in the workplace, involves creating and promoting an inclusive culture where employees feel they can feel valued, integrated and included in disclose their disability without negative repercussions. To create such a culture, today’s corporate best practices recommend the use of disability etiquette and awareness training; immersion training on accommodations; interactive dialogue for human resources professionals, hiring managers, and recruiters; the use of a disability disclosure guidance tool; and disclosure road-shows and video vignettes.

Moreover, organization must foster best practices to handle unconscious bias that exists toward mental illness or other disabilities. This means increasing awareness, reducing humiliation, encouraging employees to develop help-seeking behaviours and, most important, making sure help is available.

I think that give the right importance to mental health issues should be a crucial and prevalent concern in today’s workplaces. The prevention is important for every employer to begin taking the necessary steps to develop an end-to-end, comprehensive inclusive work environment and training programs that will appropriately and effectively provide support to those who need it.

Mental health condition in the workplace

References and further reading:

https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/psychological-health-and-safety/relevant-statistics

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2018/07/19/how-inclusive-is-your-organisation-here-is-how-to-use-inclusive-design/#32c48e6c4d18

https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/psychological-health-and-safety/inclusivity-and-discrimination

http://www.diversityjournal.com/16889-mental-health-in-the-workplace-it-matters/

http://switchandshift.com/employee-mental-health-diversity-issue

http://www.hrinasia.com/general/there-is-ability-in-disability-fostering-inclusion-at-the-workplace/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5269479/