Canadian HR Reporter

N early three million Canadians will experience de- pression in their lifetime — for most, it's during their prime working age of 24 to 44, according to the Con- ference Board of Canada. Although most cases of depression do not arise primar- ily from work or workplace exposures, depression can have a considerable impact on the workplace. People with depression have higher rates of absenteeism and short-term disability than those without. ey also experience higher rates of job turnover and productivity loss. Despite growing awareness of the issue, workplaces still struggle with what to do to help individuals experiencing de- pression. e Institute for Work & Health (IWH), a not-for- profi t research organization based in Toronto, has been leading a project to help fi ll that knowledge gap. Research points to work-focused CBT With funding from the Research and Workplace Innovation Program (RWIP) of the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, IWH's team conducted a systematic review — which synthesizes all of the available research — on workplace inter- ventions to help workers with depression. e result? Work-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help workers with depressive symptoms stay at work, and help workers return to work after a depression-relat- ed absence. On the other hand, generic CBT seems to have no eff ect on helping people return to work, but does help people stay at work. CBT teaches people strategies and skills to address the prob- lems that come up in the here and now. e technique involves identifying, questioning and changing the thoughts, attitudes and beliefs that are related to emotional and behavioural reac- tions that cause diffi culty. Work-focused CBT involves using the same technique, but specifi cally focuses on identifying strategies and skills for work and workplace solutions. Take, for example, someone on leave due to depression. If that person feels anxious about a particular aspect of her job when contemplating returning to work, the systematic review suggests she may benefi t from therapy to examine and alter her self-talk and thought patterns around those challenging tasks. Bringing in the experiences of workplaces, workers In conducting the systematic review, there was an absence of research on organizational programs and practices, which are known to aff ect workers' health outcomes. e interventions in the literature were primarily those that target the individual. ey address people's coping skills or re- silience. Very little research has focused on interventions that By Dwayne Van Eerd, Kim Cullen and Emma Irvin Work-focused cognitive behavioural therapy can help depressed employees stay at work CBT teaches people strategies and skills to address the problems that come up in the here and now. Dwayne Van Eerd is a scientist and Kim Cullen is an associate scientist at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), while Emma Irvin leads the systematic review group. e Toronto-based not-for-profi t research organization conducts research into workplace injury and disability prevention. To access the guide, visit www.iwh.on.ca/tools-and-guides/ evidence-informed-guide-to-supporting-people-with-depression-in-workplace. HEALTH & SAFETY Credit: sumroeng chinnapan, foxaon1987, chombosan, Massoud Attarianshandiz (Shutterstock) deal with organizational factors such as job stressors, social support at the workplace, and job accommodations. While employers are addressing these factors, their practices haven't shown up in the scientifi c literature. Recognizing that the peer-reviewed literature cap- tured just a fraction of the strategies and approaches actu- ally used by workplaces, the IWH team decided to also seek out practitioners' experiences. With funding support from WorkSafeBC, it conducted surveys, focus groups and inter- views with practitioners — including HR professionals, disability management professionals, and occupational health and safety practitioners — to fi nd out what types of support they provide to workers with depression. Surveys, focus groups and interviews were also conducted with workers to learn about their experiences being supported — or not — for their depression at work. is is a knowledge synthesis approach that brings together diff erent types of evidence from peer-reviewed literature, practitioners, and people who have experienced depression in the workplace. e team then developed a guide on strategies to support employees with depression based on the evi- dence collected from the three sources: An Evidence- Informed Guide to Supporting People with Depres- sion in the Workplace. e guide outlines practices and strategies that may be useful to workers, co-workers, managers and union representatives, as well as to HR practitioners. e practices out- lined in the guide came from more than 450 survey responses and focus groups and interviews with more than 20 people. ey are grouped into three broad categories: workplace culture, workplace processes, and resources (both at and outside of work). Depression is a challenging condition to address in the work- place. It is invisible to others, it's episodic, and it's unpredictable. is can make it particularly diffi cult for supervisors and managers to plan for work needs and implement and evaluate policies. Because of this chal- lenge, employers look to evidence-based prac- tices whenever possible to minimize the eff ects of depression in the workforce. Hopefully the sys- tematic review and guide will provide that much-need- ed service.

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