Bridging the Gap - Unions and Workplace Mental Health

As director of Mental Health Works, Mary Ann Baynton, consults and provides training to help employers manage effectively when their employees experience mental health issues in the workplace.Several years ago, she realized that very critical players in the process were not being supported - union representatives. "Union reps across Canada were calling us because they were at a loss," she says. "They saw their members struggling with mental health issues and with workplace issues and wanted to be able to help more effectively as part of their role as union representatives."

At some point during their lifetime, one in five Canadians will experience a mental health issue such as anxiety or depression, most often during their prime working years. What that means is that most workplaces will see a staff member struggling and will be required to respond. Labour and management recognize this challenge; Watson Wyatt, an international consulting firm focused on human capital and financial management, recently conducted a survey of Canadian employers that indicated that mental health issues are their top health and productivity-related concern. Despite this recognition, according to the survey, few have plans to address it in their workplaces. And what Baynton has found is that many union reps have not received adequate training to address these issues.

According to Joseph Ricciuti, Watson Wyatt Canada's National Group and Health Care Director, organizations are right to be concerned; the cost of mental health issues to Canadian business is tremendous. "Mental health issues are nine times more expensive to employers and the Canadian economy than work stoppage or employment disputes."

What all this means for union representatives is that most will see a member struggling with mental illness and potentially require accommodation in order to continue working or to return to work after medical leave. Union representatives have a particular role to play to support these members, and Mental Health Works provides strategies that successful unions have used to respond.

Every employer has what is called a "duty to accommodate" disabilities, including mental disorders, in the workplace. This means that there is a legal obligation to proactively eliminate employment standards, practices or requirements that discriminate against any employee on the basis of a number of criteria, including disability. The employer must do everything possible to the point of undue hardship - a very high standard - to meet that obligation.

"Union reps have a unique part to play in bridging the gap between members with a mental health issue, such as depression or anxiety, and the employer," says Baynton. "They can act as an advocate for employees in a very important way and can balance the need to respond to corporate policy and procedures and the member's ability to cope during what may be a particularly difficult time."

Baynton and her team at Mental Health Works have responded to the demand they heard by developing a three-hour training session, specifically for union representatives, which explores how they can help their members who are experiencing mental health issues and are also faced with stressful workplace situations.

A union representative has a role when an individual requires accommodation; they advocate for the employee, and work with both the union member and the employer to find solutions in accommodating the worker. "The union rep is so important, because they are there to stand up for the employee at a time when that person may find it very difficult to stand up for themselves," says Baynton. "Having a supportive union can make all the difference in the outcome of the accommodation."

This process may also involve the union representative encouraging the worker to see the need for accommodation. In fact, symptoms of illnesses such as depression or anxiety sometimes include a lack of insight into what is really happening, which means that people who are ill may actually have difficulty recognizing they need help at all or how to ask for it. There are often sufficient stressors at work and home to allow the individual to attribute their poor emotional health to something other than an illness. While it can be difficult for an employer to broach the subject of the potential need for accommodation with an employee, a union representative has more flexibility and often a greater trust relationship that allows this conversation to take place.

The union representative should also continue to check in with both employer and employee to ensure the accommodation is working over time. This is particularly important when addressing mental health issues, which are cyclical and recurring. "This may not be a one-time or static thing," notes Baynton. "An employee may, over time, require different levels of accommodation to correspond to their experience of their mental health issue at the time."

The involvement of the member in the process of filing a grievance may be necessary where rights have been violated. This process, however, is often adversarial which can increase the stress of the member to such an extent that they are no longer able to cope. In some cases, it may be worthwhile to put off the grievance process in favour of negotiating a solution on behalf of the member that allows them to regain their health and balance. Mental Health Works help to improve the union reps' understanding of when the issue may be related to mental health.

The union representative must balance the responsibilities to the individual member seeking accommodation with his or her responsibilities to the rest of the members, and so must assist in developing accommodations that avoid violating the collective agreement. However, if the only accommodation option that works does violate the agreement, legislation will usually require it to be violated. In either case, the balance requires that the representative keep in mind the interests, as well as the health and safety, of the bargaining unit members as a whole.

"Accommodation is never intended as a way for one person to do less work. That just reinforces the stigma around mental illness," says Baynton. "An accommodation is a way for a person with a disability, including mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety, to modify his or her work environment in order to perform effectively."

Union representatives can also act as intermediaries between the member and his or her colleagues, as they have a legal requirement to stop any workplace harassment or discrimination that can be the unfortunate result of stigma or misconceptions about mental illnesses. "The concern about perception of 'special treatment' is a valid one and it has to be addressed openly with the staff," acknowledges Baynton. "Certainly, it's not necessary for co-workers to be told the nature of the disability, but if it is explained as a health concern, most co-workers are satisfied. At the very least, they would know that they could expect the same consideration if they experienced something similar, and that should be reassuring to anyone."

The training workshops developed by the Mental Health Works team have been delivered to union representatives with great results. "Going into the training, we've been told that union reps don't know how to help members with mental health issues and are often dismayed at the way the members suffer through the process," says Baynton. "They feel that our training provides them with a greater sense of awareness and a way to consider the possibility of mental health issues even before the member has told them that this is what they are dealing with." Union representatives across Canada have just been handed a tool that will make a very challenging part of their job a lot easier.