The prevalence of Australians living with a mental illness means that many are taking those conditions with them to and from work.
And navigating the workplace with a mental illness can be challenging.
Carol Scherret, 54, has depression and anxiety. She has found conflictual situations in the workplace difficult to manage.
“I do have panic attacks,” she told Jenny Brockie.
“I can’t breathe properly ... I certainly can’t speak, I can’t explain what’s going on and I can just kind of just collapse to the ground and just sort of have to sort of sit.”
And jobs don’t always end well for her.
“I’m either asked to leave, I leave because I’m sick … some places have taken the opportunity when I’m off sick to restructure and then sort of say … 'there’s no job for you anymore’.”
An employer cannot discriminate against an employee or give lesser treatment to an employee because of a disability, and that includes a mental illness.
“An employer is required to make reasonable adjustments to allow somebody to perform the inherent requirements of the role. They’ll vary from individual to individual,” says Alex Grayson, a workplace lawyer from Maurice Blackburn.
Alex joins a cast of employees and employers for an episode of Insight that explores how mental illness is managed in the workplace.
“I’m either asked to leave, I leave because I’m sick … some places have taken the opportunity when I’m off sick to restructure and then sort of say … 'there’s no job for you anymore’.”
Carol says adjustments to her role, like flexible working hours and providing additional administrative support, would help her to manage at work more effectively.
While Carol has been open about her diagnosis with colleagues, Dave Westgate struggled with the decision of whether to disclose his bipolar disorder diagnosis.
He feared that his job as a senior copywriter for a multinational advertising agency would be “killed with kindness”.
The scenario he imagined: “We won’t put Dave on the next big pitch or whatever because it might be too much pressure for him.”
For NSW paramedic, John McCormack, deciding whether to disclose his PTSD at work wasn’t an issue. He wasn’t diagnosed with PTSD until an extremely confronting job left him with horrific nightmares and forced him to take 6 months off work.
On reflection, John says his decision-making at work was a concern in the lead-up to that event: “When I was at my worst, I would get complaints that I was rude and abrupt.”
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Employers have an obligation to provide a workplace that is safe for employees, both physically and mentally. That means that employers must take reasonable steps to reduce the risks to an employee’s health, including mental health.
Workplace health and safety is a familiar obligation for industries with a high risk of physical injury. Andrew Campbell, a health and safety manager in the construction industry, says that mental health is now and increasingly, a workplace health and safety issue.
“Because our industry is so high risk, you know, the last thing we want is someone that’s not doing well that day and going to a high risk job and die because of it.”
But Andrew says those risks can be managed effectively and Dominic Morgan, Commissioner of NSW Ambulance, agrees.
He told Jenny Brockie that people make the mistake of excluding people with a mental health condition from the workplace.
“We have a number of people that have different mental health issues that absolutely do their job day in, day out and no one would know,” Dominic says.
For small business owners like Alex Colls, the adjustments required to support people with a mental illness can negatively impact the bottom line.
“Absenteeism … crept up to about 50 per cent which hurt such a small team on such a regular basis.”
Workplace legislation does not preclude termination of employment in all situations.
“If reasonable adjustments have been made, and if ultimately they can’t fulfill the inherent requirements of the job, they may be dismissed,” says Alex Grayson.
“Because our industry is so high risk, you know, the last thing we want is someone that’s not doing well that day and going to a high risk job and die because of it.”
Effectively managing mental health in the workplace isn’t just a legal obligation.
An employee’s mental health impacts business profit too. It’s estimated that mental health conditions Australian workplaces $10.9 billion dollars each year. And for approximately every $1 a workplace spends on mental health, they’ll see a $2.30 return on the investment.
And, gainful employment can be life-changing. Craig Tolley tried several different jobs before finding the right job with cleaning company Clean Force, which provides training and support for people with a mental illness.
“My life has changed dramatically since I’ve worked at Clean Force because I got a girlfriend now too, which is good. I didn’t have a girlfriend for ten years before that because I was unemployed and sitting in front of the TV,” says Craig.
This week, Insight looks at how mental health is being managed in the workplace - and whether it can be managed better. | - Tuesday 9 May, 8.30pm SBS
