OPINION: Mental health and employment — time for a new approach

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ROB WHITLEY and ERIN O’TOOLE

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The first week of May is mental health week in Canada. One of the legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic will be the lasting impact on the mental health of our society. All Canadian families have experienced isolation, stress and unwanted change over the last two years, and we are much more comfortable talking about mental health than ever before.

We believe that it is time to turn those conversations into action. It is time to bust some long-standing and outdated myths about mental illness and injury and make fundamental changes to programs and policies that perpetuate stigma and hold people back.

The most common myths related to mental illness or injury are often found in the workplace.

There is a widespread belief that people with mental illness or injury are incapable of working or that they don’t want to work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Surveys consistently show that the vast majority of people with mental illness (including severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia) want to work and make a contribution to society.

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Why wouldn’t they?

Paid work provides far more than just the monetary reward for your labour. Work can often provide the critical element of meaning and purpose. It can allow for a return to structure and routine after some time away for treatment and stabilization. The psychosocial benefits of returning to the workforce are immense, whether it is a return to part-time or full-time employment. Both these forms of employment can also give much needed social contact and support.

Getting back into the workforce is perhaps one of the most meaningful steps on the journey to wellness for someone with a mental illness or injury.

Contrast that to the alternative.

Prolonged periods of unemployment can bring monotony, loneliness, financial pressures, social stigma and an existential void. Sadly, unemployment is the reality of life for thousands of Canadians with mental illness or injury. Research indicates that around 65% of working age adults with mental health-related disabilities do not have a job, with this rate rising to around 85% for people with more severe disorders. This is a tragedy when evidence suggests that even the most modest entry-level type jobs can provide a foundation for mental health improvement and confidence building.

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In the last decade, Canadians have rallyed around efforts to destigmatize discussions about mental health, with much evidence suggesting attitudes have changed for the better. Recovery from the mental health stress of the pandemic has accelerated this attitude shift, opening an unprecedented window of opportunity for bold ideas and innovative change.

It is now time to transform talk into action and make some fundamental changes to the way we approach disability, recovery and return to work when it comes to mental illness and injury.

Employment insurance and most disability benefit programs, including those for our veterans, are structured on an antiquated and often binary approach. Individuals are either on benefits and not working, or they are off benefits and expected to work. There is often no gradual transition or middle ground.

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In fact, some programs penalize casual or part-time work by clawing back benefits or threatening eligibility. They encourage dependence and discourage initiative, and that prevents Canadians with mental illness and injury from gaining that structure, routine and social integration that will likely only help their condition. This outdated approach stems from the stigma we have been trying to break down and from the deep-rooted myth that you cannot work with a mental health condition.

This mental health week, let’s start busting these damaging myths and demanding a change to the way we approach disability and employment so that we promote wellness and productivity.

Allow someone returning from disability to earn a modest amount for a period of time without fear of claw back or of losing their benefits. Encourage a successful transition back to the workforce and help these Canadians find purpose and help our desperate labor market find valuable people.

It is time to stop the stigma and transform the conversation about mental health into a concrete plan of action. Acknowledging the purpose and dignity that comes with getting back into the workforce would be a good first step.

— Rob Whitley, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University. Erin O’Toole is the MP for Durham and former leader of the Official Opposition.