Employees who are suffering from mental illness at work are increasingly being recognised as those who need more understanding, empathy and support. Two-thirds of the population will have mental health difficulties at some point in their lives, and one in every six persons has mental health problems at work, studiessuggest that mental illness can make it difficult for people to recognise when their actions amount to misconduct or are illegal and may also cloud their ability to control their actions, this makes it imperative that organizations develop strategies and policies to effectively manage and address employee mental health issues in the workplace. 

 Moreover, studies further indicate that employees struggling with mental illness are more likely to experience difficulties focusing on tasks and meeting deadlines. Co-workers may be affected by the impairment in functioning if they are required to take on additional work to fulfil a deadline or quota, there is a likelihood that the employer may be affected by this burden of “spill over” that is caused by an employee’s inability to fulfil duties due to mental impairment. 

While mental illness has been a growing and serious concern for employers, it has been further aggravated by Covid-19 pandemic, in response to these mental health challenges ranging from anxiety, depression, stress, post-traumatic stress and burnout vast majority of businesses have increased their efforts to improve employee health and well-being. Many organisations, in particular, have expanded their focus on employee mental health and are providing more customised help to address specific needs and concerns. 

Amongst other things, employers are faced with more challenges, such as having more employees working remotely and the nature of work changing rapidly, the employers now need to consider a wide range of employee needs when tailoring the implementation of mental health procedures. There is also a fear from employers that individuals may use mental health challenges as an excuse for poor performance. This makes it imperative that mental health procedures and guidelines are tailor made for organisations. 

 

Dealing with misconduct 

Mental health issues tend to manifest in the workplace through poor or vapid performance on the employee’s side. The norm for employers has always been to deal with poor performance as prescribed in the Schedule 8 of the Code of Good Practice, which is dismissal guide. This becomes complicated when mental health issues demonstrate themselves through various forms of misconduct like gross insubordination, gross insolence, absenteeism or presenteeism emotional or violent outburst or irrational behaviour. These issues become more complicated to handle especially when there is a pending disciplinary action. In South Africa, the Labour Relations Act (LRA) categorizes reasons for dismissal such as Incapacity, Misconduct and Operational requirements. 

While these are valid reasons for dismissal they do not address the issue of incapacity, poor performance and misconduct as demonstration of the symptoms of mental illness. Considering the rampant and the negative impact of mental illness, including the vulnerability of all those that are affected, the protection offered by the South African legislation and Employment Equity Act to persons with mental disability is not sufficient due to the lack of explicitness and recognition. 

 

Organisations need to be deliberate in developing and implementing interventions that seek to enhance the overall management of mental illness in the workplace. Strategies and workplace policies must aim to empower and equip both employees with mental illness and mangers in order to improve organisational competence and change attitudes towards mental health. 

Covid-19 continues to be an existing challenge in society, therefore measures during and post pandemic need to be put in place to mitigate possible negative effects on employee’s mental health. Employees to should be part of these strategic plans which will not only enhance team cohesion and foster positive attitudes but also promote state of mental health. 

While it is impressive that there are more conversations around mental health and improvement on work place intervention and strategies such as employee assistance programme (EAPs), workplace counselling, Outsourced professional help, mental health promotion and awareness. Significant amount of work still needs to be done in terms of legislation and other statutory bodies. Furthermore, it is vital that employers begin to review their current policies, specifically policies around disciplinary codes, performance management and occupational health and safety so that it is in alignment with its wellness strategies.