Managing Mental Health Issues in the Workplace: Best Employment Practices

As supervisors and managers, we are called on to balance increasingly difficult work and life challenges affecting our workplaces. Mental health and the management of employees with psychiatric disabilities can often create some of the most complex challenges.

Employers nationally are recognizing the need to manage these issues more effectively. The loss to U.S. employers related to depression alone is estimated at over $47 billion per year; over half ($24 billion) is due to lost productivity and absenteeism.

In 2000, the Mental Health Association of MN conducted a statewide survey of "Best Employment Practices" in the area of mental health disabilities. This workshop is the result of a collaboration between the Mental Health Association and Hennepin County Human Resources.

As a result of attending this session, you will:

• Increase your understanding of mental illness and mental health challenges in the context of our increasingly stressful workplaces.
• Understand what tools and resources are available to assist you in addressing and managing employees with mental illnesses.
• Understand how to apply County policies and practices.
• Discuss practical examples of how complex situations may be managed, what accommodations may be provided and what are the latest techniques being applied to meet these challenges.