In the midst of an anxiety epidemic
Businesses looking to break down mental-health stigmas, build up support, study suggests
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/06/2018 (2107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
There’s always a lot of issues keeping corporate CEOs awake at night, but according to a recent survey, the major source of stress for company managers these days is not coming from NAFTA uncertainties, tariffs or the value of the Canadian dollar — but the preponderance of workplace stress itself.
In fact, according to Stephen Liptrap, CEO of Morneau Shepell, the second-largest employee assistance program service provider in the world, we are in the midst of an anxiety epidemic.
Anxiety disorders such as panic disorders, phobias, social anxiety, OCD and PTSD are costing Canadian companies about $17 billion per year, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
In an interview with the Free Press, Liptrap, who was in Winnipeg to talk to Manitoba CPAs this week, said, “If you ask them, all the insurers will say the thing they are struggling most with is managing disability costs. And we know mental health is the largest driver of disability costs in the economy.”
Morneau Shepell recently did a survey with the Business Council of Canada, whose membership includes the largest employers in the country, and found a top priority of organizations was to create a workplace culture that supports employee well-being and their mental health.
And while employers believe they are doing the right things to make that happen, the survey found that still 71 per cent of employees are afraid of the stigma from colleagues who know they have a mental-health issue and 77 per cent believe that revealing a mental-health issue will hurt their careers.
Perhaps even more surprising was that they found millennials were twice as likely to go off on disability than other demographic groups.
It likely does not take the CEO of one of the largest providers of employee assistance programming to convince people that these are stressful times, what with 24-7 news cycles, incessant social-media obligations and new technologies disrupting competition in sector after sector.
“There are real financial implications to this,” he said.
“As a society, we need to get on it from a productivity and financial standpoint today… These are our future leaders.”
While more clearly needs to be done, Liptrap does say headway has been made to reduce the stigma of seeking help. But there is little doubt stress is taking its toll on people and the financial costs are rising.
“It is not hard to imagine that what we expect of people and what we layer on them isn’t more than what has been the case,” he said.
“It is a more stressful world. Expectations are higher than ever before.”
But there is also evidence that more people are coming forward and asking for help. In Canada, about 75 per cent of companies offer some kind of employee assistance program.
Liptrap points out that while that is also the case in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, the percentage goes way down to 15 per cent less in the rest of the world.
Not surprisingly, demand for that kind of service is going way up in places such as China and India, where employers are struggling to retain workers in the increasingly competitive global labour market.
Absence management is another big part of Morneau Shepell’s work, and when it’s properly addressed, Liptrap said, it’s an area that can make a dent in the expense and productivity hit.
“There are many more people out there that need help than are not getting the help they need,” he said.
“We really need to get the word out and create environments where people get the support when they need it. When you think about people going off on disability and stress leave, if we can get to them early and get to them proactively, we will increase productivity in the whole country.”
martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Martin Cash
Reporter
Martin Cash has been writing a column and business news at the Free Press since 1989. Over those years he’s written through a number of business cycles and the rise and fall (and rise) in fortunes of many local businesses.