| Mental Illness Costs Economy Billions |
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By LINDA NGUYEN, Canwest News Service Employees who take a leave of absence from work due to mental illness are seven times more likely to leave work again compared with co-workers who did not take time off, according to results from a three-year study released yesterday by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The study, which analyzed employment records of 10,000 people at a major Ontario corporation from 2003 to 2005, found those who needed time off because of a physical illness were twice as likely to take a second leave. At times, absences related to mental illness could stretch for years. "Workers do come back, work for a while, reaching the same capacity they had previous to their (mental) disability," said study author Dr. Carolyn Dewa, head of the centre's Work and Well-being Research and Evaluation Program. "Then somewhere along the line, they have another episode and have to leave again." Absenteeism directly related to mental health costs the Canadian economy $17 billion a year in lost productivity, the centre said. Sandy Naiman, a journalist at a Toronto newspaper for more than 30 years, understands the struggle. After her schizophrenia was diagnosed at age 12, Naiman was re-evaluated as an adult and told she had a hypomanic personality. During her reporting career, she was hospitalized at least 11 times. "Today, the outcome of disclosing a mental issue in the workplace is far more positive than it has ever been," said Naiman, who writes a blog for the Toronto Star called Coming out Crazy. "When employers have this knowledge, they can start accepting everyone as next to normal. There is no such thing as a perfect employee or manager." Because she was up-front about her illness, Naiman said, her former employers accommodated her many leaves of absence and numerous doctors' appointments. "The problem with people who have psychiatric issues is that they don't want to talk about it. They think they might lose their jobs by virtue of admitting it," she said. |