Best practices for accommodating mental health in the workplace
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant published a widely circulated article in the New York Times in 2021 titled, “There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing.”
After a year of COVID-19 disruptions to our personal and working lives, this article resonated with many who were feeling a sense of stagnation and emptiness – otherwise known as “languishing.”
But what happens when employees face mental health challenges beyond languishing? Moreover, what steps must employers take to identify and accommodate employee mental health challenges? Here is what employers need to know.
Rise of mental health challenges
One-in-five people in Canada will experience a mental health problem or illness in any given year, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association its 2021 report Fast Facts About Mental Health and Mental Illness. Each year, the economic burden of mental illness in Canada is estimated to be about $51 billion, with $6.3 billion resulting from lost productivity, according to a 2020 study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto.
Indirect costs related to poor mental health in the workplace include absenteeism, presenteeism — a loss of productivity that occurs when employees are not meeting their capabilities in the workplace because of an illness, injury, or other condition — and challenges with recruitment and retention. Likewise, remote and hybrid working has created new workplace issues including isolation, video call fatigue, and burnout. These issues can contribute to and exacerbate mental health challenges faced by employees.
There’s a name for the blah you’re feeling: It’s called languishing.
Employer accommodation obligations
In accordance with applicable human rights legislation, employers have a duty to accommodate employees with a disability to the point of undue hardship. “Disability” covers a broad range and degree of conditions, including mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety disorder, stress disorder, social phobia, and addiction.
The duty to accommodate includes both a procedural and substantive duty. The procedural duty requires an investigation of accommodation measures and an assessment of the employee’s individual needs. In most cases, the procedural duty to accommodate is triggered by an employee’s express request for accommodation.
To accommodate an employee’s mental health challenge, employers should do the following:
- Consider an employee’s request for mental health accommodation.
- Explore what accommodation is needed.
- Contemplate possible accommodation options.
- Request information required to respond to the accommodation request and in some circumstances obtain an independent medical evaluation.
- Process the accommodation request in a timely manner.
- Maintain the employee’s confidentiality.
Although it can be challenging, it is important for employers to maintain diligent records of the accommodation process. An employer’s failure to consider an accommodation request, or take appropriate steps in response to a request, may be seen as a failure to satisfy the procedural duty to accommodate.
The substantive duty to accommodate concerns the reasonableness of the accommodation offered or the employer’s reasons for not providing accommodation — such as the accommodation would cause undue hardship — once the employer has gathered the required information. When assessing whether an accommodation would cause undue hardship, employers may only consider: cost; outside sources of funding, if any; and health and safety requirements, if any.
Appropriate accommodations for mental health challenges can include, but are not limited to:
- flexible scheduling
- medical leaves of absence
- modifications to job duties
- further training
- reduction of hours
- remote working.
The duty to accommodate requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation that meets the employee’s needs – not the employee’s preferred accommodation. Accordingly, the accommodation decision should be based on the specific facts of the situation on a case-by-case basis.
More than one-in three Canadian workers feel unsafe discussing their mental health with their employers, according to a Sun Life study.
Employee’s accommodation obligations
Similarly, employees have a responsibility to participate in the accommodation process by:
- informing the employer of the circumstances/limitations relating to their mental health challenge
- engaging with the employer in the accommodation process
- providing the employer with enough information to facilitate the accommodation
- updating the employer when changes are required to the accommodation.
The accommodation process is intended to be a dialogue or interactive process between the employer and the employee. An employee is not entitled to make a request for accommodation yet refuse to participate in the accommodation process or respond to reasonable requests from the employer.
Duty to Inquire
Generally, the duty to accommodate a disability exists for needs that are known, such as when an employee advises their employer of a disability and makes a request for accommodation. However, the nature of a psychosocial disability may leave an employee unable to identify that they have a disability or that they require accommodation.
Where an employer is aware, or ought to be aware, that there may be a relationship between a disability and an employee’s job performance, the employer has a duty to inquire into that possible relationship before making a decision that could affect the employee adversely.
For example, an employer’s duty to inquire may be engaged when there is a sudden change to an employee’s behaviour, such as increased poor work performance or a rise in lateness or absenteeism.
Flexibility, making workers feel valued, and empathy are the best ways to support employee mental health, a LifeWorks survey found.
Requesting employee medical information
In most cases, an employer does not have the right to know an employee’s confidential medical information, such as the cause of a disability and its diagnosis, symptoms, or treatment. However, in some circumstances, such as cases of mental illness, it may be necessary for an employer to obtain the diagnosis to accommodate the disability.
Generally, an employer is permitted to request certain information necessary for accommodation, including:
- the limitations or restrictions associated with the disability
- whether the employee can perform the essential duties or requirements of their position
- the types of accommodation that may be needed to allow the employee to fulfill the essential duties or requirements of their position
- the duration of the limitations or restrictions.
This relevant accommodation information can often be obtained through the employee’s completion of a functional abilities form with their physician or medical practitioner. It is important that all medical information shared with the employer is kept confidential and only shared with those who need to be aware of the information, such as management or the human resources department.
Moreover, an employee’s medical information should be stored in a safe and secure location, separate from the employee’s personnel file.
Disability accommodation must be reasonable, but not perfect, the BC Human Rights Tribunal has said.
Key takeaways for employers
Managing workplace mental health – especially in the context of remote and hybrid working – is critical to a healthy and productive workplace. Whether employees are languishing or experiencing mental health challenges akin to a disability, employers can take the following proactive steps to support employee mental health:
- Provide employees, including management, with mental health training and awareness.
- Advise employees of the available employee and family assistance programs (EFAPs).
- Establish healthy workplace expectations and after-hours availability.
- Recognize circumstances where there may be a relationship between a disability and an employee’s job performance.
- Take a flexible approach to accommodation of an employee’s mental health challenge.
When it comes to employee preferences, there are limits around accommodation, the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal has said.
Workplaces that recognize and accommodate mental health challenges benefit both employers and employees through reduced absenteeism, enhanced employee morale, and improved employee performance, among other benefits. It is for these reasons that workplace mental health should continue to be a top priority for all organizations.
Lisa Cabel is the national leader, employment and labour law, at KPMG Law. Brad Hallowell is an associate, employment and labour law, at KPMG Law.
