Employers are Struggling to Support Employees with Mental Health or Substance Abuse Problems - American Society of Employers - Heather Nezich

Employers are Struggling to Support Employees with Mental Health or Substance Abuse Problems

New research from Standard Insurance Company (The Standard) finds that employers are struggling to support employees with mental health and substance abuse issues and aren’t confident in their ability to provide appropriate accommodations.

The Standard’s Absence and Disability Readiness Index found that only 29% of those surveyed feel very confident in accommodating employees’ mental health conditions. Only 28% are very confident in accommodating employees with drug addictions.

Behind this lack of confidence are three common challenges employers face when accommodating mental health conditions:

  • Thinking employees hide their conditions: 64% of employers think their workers hide their conditions. In a separate study, The Standard found that 47% of employees were scared to talk about their condition.
  • Lack of recognition: 52% of supervisors lack the knowledge to recognize mental health conditions.
  • Stigma: 30% of employers cite that the prejudice against people with mental health conditions makes it difficult to provide accommodations.

“When the signs of mental health and substance use conditions go unaddressed, it can have a drastic impact on the workplace in the form of lost productivity and presenteeism,” said Dan Jolivet, Workplace Possibilities℠ practice consultant at The Standard. “Many times, HR managers are left to solve these problems alone, reaching far beyond their area of expertise.”

Symptoms of mental health disorders are often different than outside of work.  Some signs to look for include employees who:

  • Constantly doubt their abilities or appear less confident
  • Have a hard time concentrating, learning, and making decisions
  • Suddenly withdraw from coworkers
  • Are calling in sick more than normal


Signs of substance abuse may include:

  • Erratic mood changes
  • Poor hygiene
  • Disappearing for periods of time
  • Unexplained behavior
  • Tired all the time
  • Frequent accidents or injuries
  • Increased tardiness or absenteeism
  • Changes in coworker friendships
  • Items gone missing

It’s important for HR and managers to be aware of the signs and symptoms that might indicate mental illness or substance abuse.  The largest affect of both is lost productivity.  Worker safety can also be impacted.

 

Additional ASE Resources
Substance Abuse Reasonable Suspicion Training - In this highly requested training course, participants will learn how to identify behavior that may be indicators of a worker being under the influence and to properly and legally address the situation.  The class will be held in Livonia from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. on May 23, 2019.  Register here.

ASE Drug Screening - ASE can accommodate all of your drug screening needs, including: pre-employment, random,  reasonable suspicion, and post-incident testing. For more information contact Susan Chance.

CCH HRAnswersNow – For more information on addressing mental illness in the workplace or mental health benefits, ASE members can access the CCH HRAnswersNow online portal by logging into their member dashboard.

 

Sources: therecoveryvillage.com, cos-mag.com, standard.com

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