Accommodations that Support Success at Work
Mary Ann Baynton, Program Director, Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace Dr. Ian Arnold, Occupational Health Physician Laura Lozanski, Occupational Health & Safety
Officer, Canadian Association of University Teachers May 27, 2015, Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
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‘Host & Presenter’
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Presenters
Mary Ann Baynton Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the
Workplace
Dr. Ian Arnold, Occupational Health
Physician
Laura Lozanski
Canadian Association of University Teachers
Accommodation when mental health is a factor
Supporting Employee Success
www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com
Please help us shape this tool
Download a free copy of
Supporting Employee Success at
www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com and send us your suggestions for improvement Supporting Employee Success
Accommodation Tool Survey
The Journey to Today
June 2013:
Occupational Health Professional’s Forum Discussion of workplace mental health
and
challenges around accommodation of employees with mental illness
The Journey to Today
Conclusion of Forum:
There is a need for a process for
health care professionals, employees, and workplaces to use when an employee may be in need of an accommodation
The Journey to Today
Making it Happen:
Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace sponsored a group of Occupational
Health Professionals:
Ian M. F. Arnold, M. Suzanne Arnold, David Brown, David B. Posen
to develop the process now known as Supporting Employee Success
The Journey to Today
Supporting Employee Success is based on:
• a review of relevant literature
• workplace based experience
• Workplace Strategies for Mental Health.com
Supporting Employee Success is a process that:
• Can be used by itself or within an existing process.
• Follows a sequence of events to gather information using a set of forms that are filled in.
• The forms are passed back and forth from employer to employee and health care
professional.
Supporting Employee Success is a process that:
• Helps to fully explore job and task
expectations of the individual employee.
• Considers specific workplace factors that can have an impact on the psychological well-
being of the employee.
What’s different from just getting the Doctor’s Note?
• The health care professional is provided with more relevant information about workplace requirements that may impact psychological health.
• The focus is on capabilities and competencies related to workplace function rather than on diagnosis or symptoms.
• Provides constructive suggestions to facilitate a successful return to work – the final decision for RTW is made by the employer based on the
outcome of the process.
3 Basic Tenets for Success:
Employer is committed to accommodating the employee through an ongoing collaborative
process.
The employee wants to stay at work/return to work and will strive to do the job with
accommodations.
Job expectations and the requirements of the job are clearly understood.
Laura Lozanski
Union perspective
• Invited into the process as advocates
• Reputable and reliable resource
• Prevents problems from arising
Laura Lozanski
Union perspective
• We can identify this process in advance
• Improves union rep comfort
• Helps support worker success
• Normalizes mental health issues
Questions or comments?
Dr. Ian M. F. Arnold
Occupational Health Physician perspective
• More information about workplace requirements
• Less struggle to understand the issues
• Suggestions to support success
• Doctor not responsible for final decision
Occupational Health Professionals
• Successful reintegration of workers
• Sustainable return to work
• Supports ongoing collaboration and review
Suzanne Arnold, PhD
Suzanne Arnold, PhD
Occupational Health Professionals
• Clarifies readiness to return
• Also used for stay-at-work accommodation
• Helps avoid repeated relapse
• Reintegration after long term absence
• Workers feel they are working towards their own success
Dr. David Posen
Family physician perspective
• Holistic approach to patient care
• Looks onerous, but will become simple
• Part of our responsibility to our patients
• Ultimately reduces frustration and visits
Family physician perspective
• Compensating the health care provider
• Approximately 1 hour appointment
• Form completed with patient or after appointment
• IME’s can cost between $1500 and
$5000
Dr. David Posen
• This process is likely to cost less than $600
Dr. David Brown
Corporate medical advisor perspective
• Managers need support
• Need to respect privacy
• Works for smaller businesses
Corporate medical advisor perspective
• Workplace adaptation is a priority
• Support the best medical recovery
• Recognize the social aspects
• Identify risk of appropriate absences
Dr. David Brown
Please help us shape this tool
Download a free copy of
Supporting Employee Success at
www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com and send your suggestions for improvement to
[email protected] Supporting Employee Success
Accommodation Tool Survey
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Supporting Employee Success – a Tool to Plan Accommodations That Support
Success at Work:
https://www.workplacestrategiesformental health.com/pdf/Supporting_Employee_Suc cess_EN.pdf
Accommodation Strategies to help employees remain productive:
https://www.workplacestrategiesformental health.com/managing-workplace-
issues/accommodation-strategies
Free Resources
Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace www.workplacestrateiesformentalhealth.com National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
www.csa.ca/z1003
Assembling the Pieces - An implementation guide to the national standard for
psychological health and safety in the workplace
www.csa.ca/z1003
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Date: June 25, 2015
Topic: Suicide Prevention in the Workplace
Speaker: Sally Spencer-Thomas, The Carson J Spencer Foundation
To watch our past webinars, visit our website at:
www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/workinar
Next Workplace Webinar
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Thank you
Mental Health Commission of Canada
Contact us: [email protected] Visit us: www.mentalhealthcommission.ca Follow us:
Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace Visit us: www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com
