Deteriorating psychological well-being

Mental health and addiction problems have been estimated to cost the Canadian economy upwards of $30 billion annually.5 And it’s estimated that depression costs the NAFTA economy (Canada and the US) $60 billion (US) a year.6

Disability represents anywhere from 4% to 12% of payroll costs in Canada and mental health issues are now the leading cause of short- and long-term disability.7 It’s estimated that 35% to 40% of long-term disability (LTD) claims in the private sector are because of anxiety, depression and other stress-related conditions. In fact, LTD claims citing mental health as their reason have doubled within the past 10 years.8

Private sector statistics are closing in on public sector ones, in which close to 44.3% of employees cited depression and anxiety as the reasons for going on long-term disability in 2002.9 (Cancer was the second most prevalent reason for claiming LTD, followed by skeletal-muscular problems in both public and private sectors.)

But depression also has hidden costs for an organization — increased behavioural and performance problems, increased absenteeism and errors, as well as reduced productivity, engagement and customer service.

Months of corporate cost-cuttings and downsizings haven’t helped the situation.

Relentless deadlines, 24/7 demands, job insecurity, increasing workloads, bad management and short-term thinking in the business world are cited for the explosion in short- and long-term disabilities and skyrocketing prescription medication costs. It’s now estimated that 14 million working Canadians suffer from depression – many of them undiagnosed.10

The World Health Organization (WHO) agrees, predicting that by 2020, depression will be the second-leading cause of disability in the world, up from fourth place in 1996. The WHO projects mental disorders’ share of the total global disease burden will rise to 15% by 2020, an increase of almost 50% from 1990. Much of that is driven by rising rates of depression.

And the problem is getting worse:

Sufferers are getting younger — 20% to 40% of cases are under 27.

The economic costs of mental illness (all forms) in Canada today are the equivalent of nearly 14% of corporate Canada’s net operating profits and about 3% of the country’s national debt.11

What organizations can do

The problem for employers is that most depressed employees are reluctant to admit their illness due to the stigma attached to depression and other mental health issues and fears of reprimand or dismissal. This only increases the hidden costs to organizations – lowered productivity and increased absenteeism. What can organizations do? They can:

• Implement a comprehensive employee assistance program. This provides employees and managers with a convenient and confidential way to access counseling, information and community resources 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Train managers to recognize signs of depression and anxiety and how they can support team members.
• Implement policies and procedures that support managers and employees dealing or coping with mental health issues.
• Create health and wellness initiatives that educate the workforce, help reduce any perceived stigma and demonstrate that the organization supports the physical and emotional health of its employees. These can include seminars, workshops, flyers and health fairs.
• Establish a disability management process that assists and supports workers on short-term disability in returning to meaningful and productive work in a timely manner.

5 Health Canada, 6 Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. 7 Watson Wyatt. 8 Health Canada. 9 Treasury Board. 10 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Take from: WORKFORCE RISKS, Part ONE of a three-part series. Sponsored by: Ceridian Canada, 2010. Pg 9-11