Understand the Issue: Mental Health in the Workplace

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) presents a variety of facts and statistics on its “Mental Health by the Numbers” webpage. Among them:

• Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5 percent—experiences mental illness in a given year.
• Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—9.8 million, or 4.0 percent—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. (Source: NAMI)

Why Foster a Mental Health-Friendly Workplace?

The Center for Workplace Mental Health makes a strong argument for investing in a mentally healthy workplace and the cost-effectiveness of treatment:

• 80 percent of employees treated for mental illness report improved levels of work efficacy and satisfaction.
• When employees receive effective treatment for mental illnesses, the result is lower total medical costs, increased productivity, lower absenteeism and decreased disability costs. (Source: Center for Workplace Mental Health)

The Center also offers a suite of mental health calculators to help your business determine the impact of mental health conditions on your company in terms of health care, absenteeism and lost productivity.

Types of Mental Health Conditions

On its Mental Health Impairments webpage, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) summarizes some common mental health conditions as defined by NAMI. They include the following:

• Bipolar disorder, sometimes referred to as manic depression, “is a medical illness that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, and functioning. Bipolar disorder is a chronic and generally life-long condition with recurring episodes of mania and depression that can last from days to months that often begin in adolescence or early adulthood, and occasionally even in children.”
• Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is “an often misunderstood, serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self image, and behavior. It is a disorder of emotional dysregulation. This instability often disrupts family and work, long-term planning, and the individual’s sense of self-identity.”
• Major depression is “persistent and can significantly interfere with an individual’s thoughts, behavior, mood, activity, and physical health. Among all medical illnesses, major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States and many other developed countries.”
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) “occurs when an individual experiences obsessions and compulsions for more than an hour each day, in a way that interferes with his or her life.”
• Panic disorder occurs when a person “experiences recurrent panic attacks, at least one of which leads to at least a month of increased anxiety or avoidant behavior. Panic disorder may also be indicated if a person experiences fewer than four panic episodes but has recurrent or constant fears of having another panic attack.”
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is “an anxiety disorder that can occur after someone experiences a traumatic event that caused intense fear, helplessness, or horror. While it is common to experience a brief state of anxiety or depression after such occurrences, people with PTSD continually re-experience the traumatic event; avoid individuals, thoughts, or situations associated with the event; and have symptoms of excessive emotions. People with this disorder have these symptoms for longer than one month and cannot function as well as they did before the traumatic event. PTSD symptoms usually appear within three months of the traumatic experience; however, they sometimes occur months or even years later.”
• Schizophrenia “often interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly; to distinguish reality from fantasy; and to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others.”
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is “characterized by recurrent episodes of depression – usually in late fall and winter – alternating with periods of normal or high mood the rest of the year.” SAD is not regarded as a separate disorder by the DSM-5, but it is an added descriptor for the pattern of depressive episodes in patients with major depression or bipolar disorder. (Source: JAN/NAMI)

Mental Health Impairments and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

JAN also explores the intersection between the ADA and mental health impairments, explaining that “The ADA does not contain a list of medical conditions that constitute disabilities. Instead, the ADA has a general definition of disability that each person must meet. A person has a disability if he/she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having an impairment. For more information about how to determine whether a person has a disability under the ADA, see “How to Determine Whether a Person Has a Disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA).” (Source: JAN)

Whether a mental health condition constitutes a disability or not, it is always a wise idea for employers to consider the mental health needs of their employees and implement inclusive workplace practices.