In part one we looked at the early warning signs of mental illness in the workplace, exploring how to deal with struggling employees and broach the issue of suicide.

Now Ingrid Ozols explains the difference between intervening and interfering, the imperative for dealing with situations as they arise, the importance of constant communication and an overview of the return to work process.

Intervening vs. interfering

Approaching those employees who show signs of stress and mental illness can be a difficult process - especially when they are struggling to acknowledge or accept their circumstances.

“Expect the answer – especially the first few times – to be, ‘nothing’s wrong; everything’s fine,’ says Ozols. "Expect it, but leave the door of communication open. Keep asking, ‘Are you ok? How’s life treating you?’ Remind them that if they ever need anything, to come and have a chat anytime.”

“If after weeks of this you feel like it’s not going anywhere or things are getting worse, you’ve got to start to think about changing strategies.”

“You may have tried taking them out for a coffee and an informal chat; keeping the door of communication open. But if their work output is now starting to impact on their performance and the performance of the team, you well might be wondering how long this will go on.

You might say, “We’re worried about your health. We want you to have a health check, or we may have to go down the performance appraisal approach.”

“And that can be a catalyst for change” says Ozols. “You’ve still got to say, ‘You’re valued, we care for you and we’re worried about your health. But we’ve given you X, Y, Z amount of chances, and at the end of the day we’re still a business.’ It doesn’t mean that you don’t care.”

“There will always be a small percentage of people who – no matter what you do – don’t want your help. No matter how much humanity and compassion you give them, they don’t want it. Sometimes you have to say, after trying and trying, ‘Maybe this arrangement isn’t working.’ Sometimes they don’t work and that’s ok.”
 

Don’t ignore it

Ozols illustrates the importance of early intervention when employers are faced with signs of employee mental illness.

“If something is not right with somebody, we ignore it, and an incident or injury happens, then that employee might end up taking a stress claim leave,” said Ozols.

“Then, if we ignore that during the time she’s away, she may well think, ‘See, I’m just a number, they didn’t care. I worked really hard and they don’t give a damn.’ So she gets angrier and angrier because her perception’s distorted; your thinking isn’t clear if you’ve got any type of mental health problem.”

This worst-case scenario is a sure-fire way to increase claim time and claim cost, while harming productivity, return to work outcomes and staff morale.
 

Constant communication

Communication between management and staff is not only a vital aspect of everyday workplace wellbeing; it’s also the key to recovery and return to work. If someone is off from work, work hard to maintain regular interaction, regardless of their enthusiasm for it.

 “In those early days when you’re unwell, you can’t think, you can’t work, you can’t function,” says Ozols. “But in those early days, you can connect. I’ve had many a person who responds so positively when you do connect. And in fact, sometimes a stranger can do more than family.”  

Ozols suggests involving the staff member at every step, asking:

• How often can I ring you to check up on you just to see how you’re going?
• Why don’t you come in for the morning tea?
• Do you mind if I send you our weekly newsletter or an email to tell you the news about things? Not because we want to pressure you because we’ve got work or anything, just to let you know that so-and-so had a baby, and so-and-so is doing this and that; just to keep you in touch.

Keeping the employee engaged with the workplace is a critical step in recovery and RTW.

Return to work

Involving the person in every step of their own RTW ensures the best chance of their engagement and success. A realistic, tailored RTW plan has the best chance of facilitating durable RTW. Ozols demonstrates such a process.

“You could say, ‘We know that on your first day back there’s no way you’re going to do a full, productive eight hours, so why don’t we bring you back slowly? How about two or three hour shifts?’

 “If Mary’s on medication that makes her drowsy in the morning, maybe it’s better to start her at 11 o’clock. You might find that she’s done more in those three hours than she would have done all day.” Then you can gradually increase the frequency and length of working hours.

There is also scope for re-skilling, explains Ozols.

“Ask Mary what her ultimate goal is. Maybe she wants a different job and maybe you can help; maybe you can’t. You might have to say, ‘Mary I’d love to help you on this but we actually don’t have a need on that one, but we have a need here. How do you feel about doing that?’

Mary might say, ‘Oh, I don’t feel skilled enough.’ To which you could reply, ‘well, we’ll offer you some training and support.’

This way, employers retain a valued employee who understands their business, feels supported and is a loyal and more productive team member. Ultimately, this RTW approach is the most likely to facilitate a full recovery.

Ingrid Ozols is founder and Managing Director of Mental Health at Work.