Despite disability management programs, EAPs and other employee supports, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia was still seeing the number of mental health claims increase.
Like many organizations they were tracking the increase, but didn’t always know what to do about it, according to director of talent acquisition & consulting & employee wellness Leslie Mitton.
Mitton and her colleagues found that when employees went on mental health related leave, their managers would almost always mention that they had seen some signs that something was wrong, or had noticed a change in behaviour. What if they could encourage managers to be proactive about those signs, instead of reactive?
It’s something more and more organizations are struggling with as mental health claims and diagnoses increase. The stigma of mental health is slowly decreasing, but it’s still not an easy conversation to start.
“The biggest mistake employers can make is ignoring issues and not having processes in place,” occupational
health and safety consultant Ian Arnold said, adding that while some organizations, such as
Bell Canada, had leadership buy in right from the start, others needed an individual to lead the charge and win executive response.
One of the steps ICBC took was to join the Not Myself Today campaign led by Partners for Mental Health, which provides resources and tools for organizations to engage employees around mental health in the workplace.
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“Partners for Mental Health is trying to normalize the topic and start conversations,” Mitton said. “It’s really simple and all encompassing – everyone can relate.”
When ICBC joined the Not Myself Today campaign and Partners for Mental Health last year, it might have seemed like bad timing. The organization was introducing a new claims system and employees at their 72 locations had a lot on their plates.
“This is exactly when people need these resources – during change and transformation,” Mitton said.
“We wanted to mitigate any problems that might arise. We distributed the materials around the organization and let people choose what to do and how to use the resources and materials.”
President of
Partners for Mental Health Jeff Moat said one advantage of the program is that it can complement existing programs, or be used as a jumping off point for organizations that are just starting to explore and implement ways to create and maintain mentally healthy workplaces.
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“Many employers realize they have to do something more and the good news is that they’re ready to do something about it,” Moat said. “I think we’re on the cusp of having Corporate Canada step up and really do something about this issue.”
The Not Myself Today initiative and the tools and resources are evaluated annually to determine effectiveness and impact, ensuring it is starting conversations, increasing awareness and knowledge about mental health and reducing stigma.
“Every company and organization and household in Canada is touched by this,” Moat said. “The solutions need to be owned collectively as well. We need to make it something we can confront and talk about. What we did with
Not Myself Today is to address this notion of the stigma that surrounds mental illness. It’s something most people would rather not talk about so we need to create cultures of acceptance and support for mental health.”
For more information on the Not Myself Today workplace initiative, please visit notmyselftoday.ca and for Partners for Mental Health, visit partnersformh.ca.
