Depression passes heart ills as cause for work absence.

TORONTO -- Depression has out-stripped cardiovascular disease as the fastest growing category of work days lost to disability in Canada while mental health issues overall are causing increased use of group benefit plans, including increased use of short-term disability claims in workplaces, indicates a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting on behalf of Mental Health Works, (A Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario) project.

Despite this trend of personnel problems and increased business costs to employers, most employers "are ill prepared to address them."

The Mercer survey, which was conducted in 134 Ontario-based public and private organizations with 44 per cent of those organizations having more than 500 employees and 47 per cent having some unionized staff, found that 91 per cent of employers said employees are experiencing increased workloads.

As well, 72 per cent of employers noted that changes in job duties for employees have been accompanied by an increase in employee absence. Further, 64 per cent said emotional tension is prevalent among employees, while 61 per cent reported a decrease in productivity with 44 per cent of employers noting a prevalence of requests from employees for adjusted work schedules.

Most employers have increased their use of Employee Assistance Programs, but fewer than ten per cent of respondents have managers who are trained to identify and address the issues, said Anne Nicoll, principal of Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

But Mercer Consulting along with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario stress that there are solutions to the challenges posed by mental health problems among employees. They point to Mental Health Works, an initiative of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario as an example. This program provides practical training for managers to address mental health issues while at the same time providing education for employees and tries to generate discussion about mental health issues in the workplace.

"As one in every five Canadians will experience mental illness in their lifetimes, virtually every employer will need to address mental health issues in their workplaces. If these issues are addressed, employers can see increased productivity, and decreased long-term disability costs and absence," says Mary Ann Baynton, Mental Health Works, director. Nicoll notes that the first step to influencing the impact of mental health issues on business, is to measure its impact and then assess the root causes.