Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER NOVEMBER 2019 6 NEWS generations, to overcome, says Ellen Choi, assistant professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management Ryerson University in Toronto. "When you think about how re- luctant people are even to report their own errors at work, then to reveal something so vulnerable and so deeply intimate and part of your own identity and character, I think we're asking a lot of people," she says. "As human beings, we spend a lot of time protecting our image and, if you propel that into the workplace, how you're appraised depends on how you manage the perceptions of others." ere's still a lot of stigma out there around stereotypes, says Bob Acton, consulting psycholo- gist at Obair Leadership and Fal- congate in Calgary. "People are trivialized or be- littled if they have a mental health condition. People are insulted because they have the condition. Or, sometimes, people are patron- ized. ere's still a ton of stigma and people just don't want to talk about it — they're afraid," he says. Too much talk? While people have the desire and the willingness to talk, "we're naively assuming that just by talking about things, we're going to make it better," says Stroh. "e main barrier is the indi- vidual's fear of saying it out loud. For people in substance-abuse recovery, the hardest thing is ad- mitting that you have a problem and it plays into the stigma of one reason you won't do that because the people around you may not contribute to an open environ- ment where you feel comfortable doing that," he says. "I just think the whole conver- sation is much more complicated than the general discourse has al- luded to up to this point." However, the fact that more attention is being paid to the issue is a good thing, says Acton. "People are talking about it more as a legitimate issue and communicating about it more. For example, the World Health Organization recognizes that depression is now the leading cause of disability," he says. "Busi- nesses are finally starting to get their head around the whole cost to their organization for people when they're ill." Adding up the costs ree-quarters (75 per cent) of re- spondents said not disclosing they have a mental illness would have a negative impact on their personal well-being, found RBC. At least six in 10 said it would have a negative impact on their relationships with family (66 per cent), productivity at work (65 per cent), relationships with friends (64 per cent) and relationships with co-workers (64 per cent). More than half (57 per cent) believe it would negatively im- pact how quickly they can return to work following a leave. And 53 per cent of those asked recognize depression as a disabil- ity — compared to 47 per cent last year — while 41 per cent view anxiety the same way — up from 36 per cent in 2018. "It's encouraging to see that Canadians are making the con- nection between mental illness and disability, most likely because of educational efforts and the openness of those who are willing to share their personal struggles," says Winslow. "However, it's ap- parent that the perception of stigma still exists, which impedes some people's ability or willing- ness to speak up and seek help." For managers and HR profes- sionals, even more education is needed to address the issue, not only because it's the right thing to do but because it's good for the bottom line, says Allan Stordy, president and CEO of Arete HR in Calgary. "Of course, organizations need to do this. ey should be doing it because it's a good, human-cen- tred thing to do. But organizations should be doing it because there's definitely a payback. ere's lots of lost productivity due to [poor] mental health, which manifests itself in absenteeism and, of course, the more costly presen- teeism, where people are there and they're not necessarily work- ing but they're dealing with issues that are causing them not to be productive." Finding support Encouragingly, when asked how they would react if a co-worker or boss admitted that they were suffering from a mental illness, 76 per cent of respondents said they would be completely comfortable and supportive. "We tend to judge people based on how they appear and compare that with how we feel. We compare how we feel to how somebody looks, and that's bit of an unfair comparison to make," says Stordy. "But when someone tells us how they feel and how they're do- ing, it sort of equals things out and I think that's the reason why there tends to be more trust when a manager or supervisor talks about their own personal experience." "Even talking casually in con- versations, there's lots of op- portunities that managers and business leaders can talk about mental health that shows an atti- tude of openness towards mental health," he says. And how bosses manage this message matters a lot, says Stroh. "If you get an email from your boss saying, 'Morning, our new company values mental health [and] we're going to be support- ive and accepting' or if you get an email from your boss saying, 'I had a panic attack over the weekend, I'm really struggling. This has been an issue for me over a long period of time, I'm going to get help,' that is a way more powerful way of proving to your employees that you care." HR professionals and managers should do better at understand- ing on a human level, according to Choi. "Any kind of empathy, emo- tional intelligence that can start happening at an interpersonal level would be wildly beneficial. People share when they have a trusted other, like a genuine, deep, high-quality relation- ship — this is when sharing oc- curs. So, for all the engagement surveys that ask, 'Do you have a work best friend?' how trite that might sound [but] it's incredibly important and indicative of the extent to which social support could have enhanced resilience." Sharing personal experiences helps with trust MENTAL HEALTH < pg. 1 Canadians are making the connection between mental illness and disability. Win the Year-end Reporting Race Win the Year-end Reporting Race Win the Year-end Reporting Race Win the Year-end Reporting Race Win the Year-end Reporting Race Ready, Set, Go! 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