I'm behind on my news, but Canada just had its annual Mental Health Week. ("We're just as stressed as Americans" asserts the Canadian Mental Health Association home page.) This year's theme was Work/Life Balance, which usually means "Go home and see your children before they forget what you look like!" but surprisingly, Canada has chosen to highlight the ways in which employers deal with mental health issues in the workplace.
Since the invention of the "sick day", people have been taking "mental health days" under the guise of "stomach flu" or "pipe burst" or "veterinary emergency." No one has ever called into the office at 8:00 in the morning and said, "Hi Boss. I won't be coming into the office today. I'm losing my mind." But we've all been there. So what's the right thing to do?
Canada thinks there should be open communication about mental health issues in the workplace.
"Managers may be afraid of appearing nosy, while employees may fear they’ll lose their job if they say they’re dealing with a mental health issue. As a result, people who wouldn’t hesitate to talk about a heart condition or diabetes may avoid addressing stress or depression."
Or ADD. Every ADDer needs a regular break from their own life. A chance to rest and figure out what needs to be done and when. Also, it never hurts to spend a day on the couch watching Law & Order.
So imagine working in the kind of supportive environment this nice French-Canadian lady describes:
"Ideally, managers should approach an employee as soon as they notice a change in behaviour. "Part of prevention in the workplace is to talk to the employee before performance is affected,” says Ms. Ouimet. If an employee needs to take disability leave, colleagues should be encouraged to maintain their existing relationships with him or her, Ms. Ouimet says. Cards and visits may be appropriate and helpful."
That's right. She said cards and visits. How wonderful to think that someday we can all take a sick day, be honest about why, and maybe even score a bouquet of flowers for it.
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