Mental Health and Employment:

Promoting Social Inclusion in the Workplace

Margret Fine-Davis

Social Attitude and Policy Research Group

Trinity College

Talk to Irish Association for Supported Employment

Kilkenny, 10 October 2009

EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND: helping develop employment by promoting employability, the business spirit

and equal opportunities and investing in human resources

National Flexi-Work PartnershipNational Flexi-Work Partnership

For all older people

University of Dublin Trinity College

The Work-Life Balance Project

Consortium of Organisations in Project

Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies, Trinity College Dublin

Irish Business and Employer’s Confederation (IBEC)

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) FAS – the National Training Authority Aware Age Action Ireland

Aims

To develop new models of working which will:

• Facilitate the reconciliation of work and family life

• Include groups with difficulty in attaining or maintaining employment

• Encourage employers and policy makers to incorporate these models into their normal practices

Sub Projects and Studies

Pilot Projects to Test and Evaluate Flexible Working

Nationwide Representative Survey of Work-Life Balance

(sample of 1,212)

Survey of Mental Health and the Workplace (sample of 133)

to include special focus on: Working Parents and Carers Older People

National Flexi-work Partnership:Work-Life Balance Project

“Mental Health & Employment:Promoting Social Inclusion in the

Workforce”

Margret Fine-Davis, Mary McCarthy, Grace Edge and Ciara O’Dwyer

Background

300,000 or 1 in 14 people in Ireland suffer from depression

Social and Economic Rationale Social: Everybody has the right to

the opportunity of participating in economic life of the country

Economic: If economic growth is to be sustained all sources of labour must be utilised (NCPP, 2005)

Benefits of Working Structure Financial security Interpersonal contact Opportunity for skill use Opportunity for self fulfilment and

achievement Sense of identity

Specific Benefits of Working for People with Mental Health Problems

Coping mechanism Benefits are affiliative (i.e. not

purely economic) Protects against depression (Brown

and Harris, 1978)

Benefits cont’d Foster 1999: In relation to mental

health rehabilitation “opportunities for employment are crucial”

Auerbach and Richardson 2005: “Not only was work a contributor to the person’s identity it was also an antidote to the person’s problems”

Benefits of Flexible Working for People with Mental Health Problems

Enables people with mental health problems to retain employment

Gives a message to employees that the organisation values them and that they can still contribute even during times of poor mental health

Stigmatisation

Interaction between stigmatisation and disclosure of illness:

Fear that disclosure will lead to stigmatisation and stereotyping in the workplace

Fear of damaging promotional and career prospects

Disclosure

McKeon 1995 – 52% of people with MHP gave fictitious account of diagnosis to employer

McKeon 2005 - 87% of people with MHP gave fictitious account of diagnosis to employer

Research Method

Sampling Design Respondents recruited mainly

through AWARE Interviews carried out with 133

people who had experienced MHP, specifically depression

Interviews carried out on a one to one basis

Sample Design cont’d

Sample stratified by employment status

and gender

Characteristics of the Sample

Employed: 44%, Non-employed 56%

Males: 44%, Females: 56%

Average age: 45 years

Gender and Employment Status

Employed(n=59)

Non-employed(n=74)

Total

(N=133)

Male 52.5% 37.8% 44.4%Female 47.5% 62.2% 55.6%Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0

%

Questionnaire Demographics Work and work arrangements (currently

employed) Work history and preferences (non-

employed) Work and mental health problems (currently

and non-employed) Experience of people with mental health

problems in the workplace (currently & previously employed)

Work-Life balance and well-being

Educational Attainment People with mental health problems in

our sample have a high level of educational attainment:

45.8% of the employed have university degree or more

11.9% - 3rd level degree 33.9% - post graduate qualification

Educational Attainment Non-Employed

39.3% of non employed have university degree or more

14.9% - 3rd level degree 24.4% - post graduate

qualifications

Type of Organisation and Employment Status

Type of organisation

Employed

Non-employed

Total

Public 35.6% 30.1% 32.6%

Private 54.2% 67.1% 61.4%Community/NGO

10.2% 2.7% 6.1%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Reasons why Non-Employed Left Workforce

58.9% of the previously employed left work due to their mental health problems

Desire to Return to Work

72% of the non-employed said that they would like to return to employment

However just 55.4% of these thought that they actually would return

Work Characteristics

Individual Flexibility 62.6% of currently employed had

some degree of flexibility in their work schedule

Whereas only 30.1% of previously employed had some degree of flexibility in their work schedule

This illustrates the fact that flexibility is key to remaining in employment for people with mental health problems

Effect of Flexible Working on Career

Over half (55.5%) of the currently employed said that flexible working had a positive effect on their career

Effect of Flexible Working on Mental Health

77.7% of employed respondents said that working flexibly had a positive effect on their mental health

61.9% of non-employed also said it had a positive effect

To what extent people with mental health problems are stigmatised

Employed(n=56)

Non-Employed(n=68)

Total(N=124)

A fair amount

32.1% 22.1% 26.6%

A great deal

35.7% 38.2% 37.1%

Total 67.8% 60.3% 63.7%

Effect of own workplace on mental health

Employed(n=57)

Previously employed(n=73)

Negatively 17.6% 56.2%

Neither 5.3% 15.1%

Positively 77.3% 28.8%

Total 100% 100%

Increasing Stress Levels of Irish Workers

A survey carried for the Forum of the Workplace of the Future (National Centre for Partnership and Performance, 2005) found that Irish workers are experiencing increased levels of pressure and stress.

As a result increasing numbers of workers are in need of greater work-life balance.

Stress has particularly detrimental effects for people with mental health difficulties.

How often feel under stress

Employed(n=59)

Non-Employed(n=73)

Nationwide Sample(N=1202)

Very often

23.7% 26.0% 6.1%

Always3.4% 6.8% 2.5%

Total 27.1% 32.8% 8.6%

Life Satisfaction

Employed(n=59)

Non-Employed(n=74)

Nationwide Sample(N=1208)

Dissatis-fied 22%

44.6% 19.3%

Satisfied 30.5% 33.8% 50%

VerySatisfied 13.6% 9.5% 30.7%

Work and Mental Health Problems

Mental Health and the Workplace – Negative Experiences

17.4% reported having received verbal abuse from colleagues

19.7% reported having received verbal abuse from a manager/supervisor

30.5% reported having been excluded in the workplace

Mental Health and the Workplace – Negative Experiences 21.4% reported having had their

workload lessened 25.8% reported having been

unfairly rebuked 28.8% reported having been

passed over for promotion 16.9% reported having had their

job description changed

Attitudes to Mental Health and the Workplace: A

Comparison of the Nationwide and Mental Health Samples

Factor I: Positive Attitudes to Facilitating People with Mental Health Problems in the Workplace

Nationwide (N=1212)% Agree

Mental Health

(N=133)% Agree

“If people with mental health problems need flexibility at work in order to stay in the workplace, their colleagues should make allowances for this”

89% 94%

“People should be able to be more open in the workplace about mental health issues”

93.6% 95.4%

Positive Attitudes to Facilitating People with Mental Health Problems in the Workplace

Nationwide (N=1212)% Agree

Mental Health

(N=133)% Agree

“Mental health problems should be regarded in the same way as any other illness”

92% 97.7%

“It is in the interest of employers to support people with mental health problems so as to retain their skills & experience”

92.7% 100%

“Employers should make a special effort to accommodate the particular needs of employees with mental health problems in the workplace”

90.3% 97.7%

Factor II: Denial and Concealment of Mental Health Problems

Nationwide (N=1212)% Agree

Mental Health

(N=133)% Agree

“It is not in an employees’ best interest to discuss/disclose mental health problems in the workplace”

69% 79.6%

“People with depression aren’t really ill – they should just pull themselves together”

6.6% 3%

The issue of disclosure: To disclose or not

to disclose?

Disclosure

Just over 53% of the total sample had disclosed

62.7% of employed had disclosed

45.2% of previously employed had disclosed

Disclosure

44.7% of the total sample

had never spoken to anyone at work regarding their mental health problems

Disclosure at Interview 37.8% of currently employed had

disclosed at interview 21.9% of non-employed had

disclosed at interview Overall over two thirds of the total

sample felt unable to disclose at interview

Disclosure cont’d

60% would advise a friend not to disclose if

applying to a new job

Disclosure cont’d 61.1% of currently employed

respondents felt that disclosure had had a positive effect on them

whereas only 34.5% of the non-employed reported that disclosure had had a positive effect on them

Workplace Supports and Disclosure

If you don’t disclose you may forgo the opportunity of availing of support (via personnel and programmes) in the workplace

Difficulties for Employers

Non disclosure makes it difficult for employers to develop practical strategies to support and assist employees with mental health needs

Coping with an Episode of Ill Health at Work 67.4% of all respondents said that

they used sick leave during periods of poor-health

Flexible arrangements were available to 37.7% of respondents.

When flexible arrangements were available, they were the most availed of option with a take-up rate of 79.6%

Benefits of Flexible Working during Periods of Poor Mental Health

Employee: provides a continued opportunity to engage in the world of work

Employers: retain skilled staff, save money on recruitment/training of new staff

Most Important Factors which support People at Work 49.6% of all respondents said that

supportive attitudes at work were the most important factor in maintaining people with mental health problems in employment

24.1% said flexible hours were the second most important factor

Evaluation of Workplace Support Personnel and programmes which deal

with mental health in the workplace are becoming more widely available and in general they were positively evaluated by employees

However 59.2% of all respondents felt they had little or no support available to them in times of poor mental health

Benefits of Putting support in place Symbolises commitment of

organisation to staff during periods of poor mental health

Assists employees during episodes of poor mental health

Promotes positive awareness and understanding of mental health amongst staff in general

Mental Health and Equality 83.1% of all respondents were

aware of the Equality Authority

53.1% said that they were aware that discrimination against people with mental health problems was prohibited by law

Recommendations

RecommendationsWork-life balance and flexible

working The promotion of work-life balance

through the availability of flexible working arrangements is recommended

It contributes to the good mental well-being of ALL employees

It has added therapeutic and protective values for people with mental health problems in particular

Recommendations

Access to employment Employers should be aware how

difficult re-entry is for those who have had to leave the workplace

Government initiatives which facilitate re-entry should be continued and developed

Recommendations

Company policy and practice Companies should be more open

about what help they have available

All efforts should be made to facilitate retention in employment

Recommendations

Company ethos Unless the overall culture of the

company includes a positive and accepting attitude towards mental health problems, employees will not

feel empowered to disclose or access the support available

Recommendations

Awareness training Awareness training for all staff, not

just HR All stakeholders in the organisation

need to be knowledgeable about mental health and other diversity issues

Recommendations

Integration of mental health into the diversity agenda

Information about the needs of people with mental health problems should be more fully integrated into the area of Diversity Training and Awareness in the workplace

RecommendationsDisclosure Disclosure – implications for employers

and employees Disclosure can make it easier to come

to work during periods of heightened symptoms

Non-disclosure can be detrimental to the process of recovery

Disclosure allows the worker to request reasonable accommodation

Recommendations One person’s disclosure may empower

another's Disclosure may help a person to feel

secure in the workplace