Employees still face mental health stigma

Mental health remains taboo in the workplace, and many live with stigma. This is what the Canadian Congress Council found study On work attendance and the general mental health of employees, Posted on August 9.

According to Annie Pouillard, president of the Annie RH Network, more than one in five Canadians has a mental health problem, and one in three Quebec employees has already received a diagnosis of a mental health problem. And confirmed in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.

She adds, “Mental health is the other pandemic… It’s very much there, and you still wonder how it is?”.

An employee who continues to go to work, despite mental health issues, has negative effects on the company.

“This will have a negative impact on the productivity of the company three times greater than if the employee stayed home,” says Boilard.

The president of the Annie RH Network insists that in the long run, it’s better to stay home and take care of yourself than to force yourself to go to work. “Otherwise, it will lead to a deterioration in the employee’s health, which can lead to absenteeism and eventually disability hearings,” Annie adds.

In Canada, one in three companies offer no benefits to people with mental health issues. Employees feel compelled to come to work, due to the work attendance policy.

She comments, “The employer does not realize that it has an impact and that it will generate costs in the end.”

And according to Ms. Boillard, employers should be aware of the stigma surrounding mental health.

“We need to talk about it, we need to get people ready to recognize symptoms, we need managers to ensure the mental health of teams, we need to review work attendance policies, we need to trust employees and provide flexibility,” concluded President Annie RH. network.