Having mental health issues is difficult. It’s hard to deal with and even harder to function around. Getting out of bed every day is a big challenge for anyone with serious mental health problems. It tells us that much of our self-esteem comes from employment and much of our self-preservation depends on staying employed.
Unfortunately, people with mental health conditions such as clinical depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia have to contend with many internal difficulties in order to get a job. The work they have to do should be as easy and acceptable as possible for them. From my own personal experience, mental health conditions are a major disruption to everyday life and having a supportive work environment can go a long way in helping an individual function well in life. It can be said that it is useful.
The modern workplace has an admirable ability to adapt to employee needs, provided employers and supervisors are cooperative. Workplaces around the world have responded to the mental health crisis in a variety of ways, including through legislation. Examples are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States and his Equality Act 2010 in the United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, there are no laws in Bangladesh that can protect people with mental illness in the workplace. A law called the Mental Health Act of 2018 was recently passed, replacing a 100-year-old law. However, it cannot specifically address the issue of protecting people with mental health problems in the workplace.
We need policies that prohibit exclusion and discrimination based on mental health, and systems that force us to take the necessary steps to create safe spaces for those facing mental health problems. In the absence of such laws, people with mental health problems have to live a life of deception. Due to mental health stigma in Bangladesh, people often do not disclose their mental health status during the job selection process. There is a public misconception that people with mental health issues are unproductive, so disclosing your requirements can put you at risk of not being hired. This is a pity.
Employees must be free to disclose their mental health status in the spirit of full disclosure and as the office may need to make adjustments to the individual . Employers should know that just because an employee has a mental health condition, that employee is not a burden to the facility. In fact, people with mental health challenges often make great employees because of their willingness to try to prove to themselves and others that they can overcome mental health challenges.
For example, according to research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, people with bipolar disorder can be more creative than others. After the hiring process, there are many things employers can do to make life easier for employees with mental illness. Initiatives like mental health days or weeks that encourage people to discuss their mental health conditions with each other in front of a mental health professional may help. Employees should be able to take time off for mental health in addition to sick time off for physical illness. This is important not only for those diagnosed with mental health issues, but for others as well.
In the modern workplace, anyone can become stressed or burnt out. Having a chance to rest and having a way to vent and seek help for mental health issues may be just what employees need to cope with a highly stressful work environment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the modern workplace causes stress, depression and anxiety among workers.
The best way for workplaces to avoid this and ensure employee productivity is to implement policies that recognize employee mental health. It’s not a waste of money, it’s a step towards a more effective and productive workplace. Ensuring that a healthy work-life balance exists in an employee’s life goes a long way in ensuring the mental health of the employee. Employers should reconsider their management style to ensure that no one within the organization is meticulous in achieving the desired results.
Overall, employers need to care about their employees. That’s the only way to change the way you think about mental health. Without caring employers willing to provide necessary accommodations to ensure the health of their employees, the situation cannot be expected to improve. A system overhaul is needed to ensure better care for workers. No one’s mental health should be ignored. That’s the only way to improve the mental health of everyone at work.
