Approximately one in five of Australia’s workforce is suffering with a mental illness at any given time. How well equipped is your workplace to acknowledge and handle employees within this bracket?
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, about 45% of Australians aged from 16 to 85 will suffer with a mental health condition at some point in their lifetime, with the charity beyondblue claiming that “whether employers know it or not, a significant proportion of their employees (approximately 20%) are likely to be experiencing a mental health problem at any one time.”
Beyondblue’s website emphasises the importance of awareness of the issues surrounding mental health in the workplace.
“[Mental health issues] will affect the way your organisation manages work performance and disciplinary issues, employee training, work health and safety, grievance resolution and dismissal,” said Charles Power, partner at Holding Redlich.
He told HC that research shows mentally unhealthy workplaces contribute to poor productivity and high levels of absenteeism, costing nearly $11 million a year.
Power will be speaking on mental health and fitness for work at the Employment Law for HR Managers masterclass in Melbourne on 11 November.
“The session will explain the legal reasons why an employer should provide a workplace free from risks to mental health – why the employer has legal obligations to take into account an individual employee’s mental illness in discipline and performance management, and why an employer must make workplace adjustments to accommodate an individual employee’s mental illness,” said Power.
