One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.Globally, more than 300 million people suffer from depression, the leading cause of disability, with many of these people also suffering from symptoms of anxiety. A recent WHO-led study estimates that depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year in lost productivity. Canada’s economy alone loses 51 billion US dollars due to disability claims caused by mental illness .
In Saudi Arabia, neuropsychiatric disorders are estimated to contribute to 14% of the global burden of disease which is considered high for a single country. Unfortunately, this has a dramatic effect on the workforce for companies operating in Saudi Arabia. According to the world health organization, Suicide rate information is not available, which is not necessarily a good indicator for the country’s overall mental health. Mental health expenditures by the government health department/ministry are 3.89% of the total health budget. In 2009, mental health expenditures accounted for 6.3 percent of all health expenditures in the U.S., but were expected to account for only 5.6 percent by the end of 2017.With a percentage that small assigned to mental health expenditures by the Saudi ministry, we can say that mental health conditions in Saudi Arabia need to improve dramatically.
What effect do these trends have on your workforce?
The increasing prevalence of mental illness in Saudi Arabia will challenge the workplace in many ways. If left unmanaged, employers may experience higher levels of absenteeism, lower productivity rates, reduced employee engagement and increased disability and drug claims resulting from mental health conditions. However, by improving the management of mental health in the workplace and creating a psychologically safe and healthy work environment, employers can help protect both their employees and their bottom line.In the long term, costs spent on mental health care may represent an investment that will pay off not only in healthier employees, but also for the company’s financial health.A Harvard medical study reported that intervention significantly improved employees’ productivity. Highlighting the importance of employing professionals to deal with workforce mental problems.
SOUND HEART counseling IS HERE TO HELP
For an employer, addressing mental health in the workplace can feel overwhelming. As a simple guideline, organizational initiatives should address employee mental health no matter where they are on the health continuum — be that at work and healthy, at work and at risk of an illness, off work recovering, or transitioning back into the workplace following an absence.
Sound heart recognizes the effects mental health has on the workforce and is committed to helping meet the needs of our clients in this area. We have developed a comprehensive strategy to help you and your employees achieve better mental health outcomes. Sound heart’s workplace solutions for mental health are aligned with the health continuum and provide support in four areas: assessment, prevention, intervention
and return to work support.
Prevention: The solutions sound Heart offers will help employers prevent or minimize the impact of mental illness in the workplace. Preventative support gives employers the knowledge and tools to help the mental wellbeing of their employees and promote a psychologically safe and healthy workplace.
Intervention: Early intervention helps to ensure employees receive timely treatment and support when they are experiencing a mental illness. Manulife’s solutions help employers detect the early signs of mental health conditions and support employees through their recovery.
Return to work support: Returning to work following an absence due to mental illness can be a difficult step for an employee, especially given the stigma that surrounds mental illness. As well, employers can struggle with how best to accommodate the employee upon their return to work. Manulife’s return to work support provides both employers and employees the help they need with this important transition.
SERVICES OFFERED:
Comprehensive workplace health and safety program:
As an employer, this program will help and improve employee co-operation, employee engagement employee retention, loyalty to organization, morale and employee satisfaction, productivity, and the company’s recruitment strategies. Our consultants will start by conducting situational assessment to understand where problems arise and why. Developing an operational plan as well as an evaluation Plan and implementing it in practice in order to gain good improvements. As a result grievances ,health costs and medical leave will be reduced.
Sexual harassment training: Creating and Maintaining a Harassment Free Workplace is a specially designed training program that provides managers and employees with the tools, knowledge and skills they need to recognize, stop and prevent all forms of harassing behaviors. It supports organizations that are committed to preventing harassment by providing a comprehensive approach to behavior change using program modules tied to business realities, skill building practice and take-away tools.
Cultural competence :Our consultants will work with your company to design and deliver customized cultural competency training tailored to your specific business challenges and opportunities. Along with our partners, organizations will be able to share the common goal of building knowledge and skills for leading diverse and multicultural teams in order to enhance relationships, productivity, commitment, quality and profit. That is the core of increasing cultural competencies to drive business results.
Health Risk Assessment – A series of personal and workplace health questions completed by employees. Employers can request aggregate reports summarizing the physical and psychological health risks of their workforce, employee readiness for change, and the overall mental health culture of their workplace.
Workplace Psychological Health Gap Assessment Tool – A high level questionnaire to guide the employer through the 13 workplace psychosocial factors identified in the Standard for Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace.
Workplace Health Profile – Provides an assessment and roadmap for organizations looking to develop sustainable wellness programs. The assessment will evaluate the effectiveness of existing mental health programs and recommendations for enhancements or future considerations.
Integrated Health Data Analysis – A comprehensive assessment that provides a view of an employer’s disease conditions and risk factors that cross all health benefit categories. In addition to absence and disability data, this analysis includes other relevant data sources, such as employee assistance programs, extended health and drug data and health risk assessments.
Resilience and Workplace Advisor Employee & Family Assistance Programs (EFAP) – Our comprehensive EFAP programs offer unlimited short term professional counselling in addition to a wealth of online resources and supports for both the member and manager/HR.
Lifestyle Health Coaching – A completely voluntary and confidential service provided to plan members who are interested in engaging qualified professionals to help them take the steps needed toward adopting a healthier lifestyle. Where stress or mental health conditions are the key concern, experts will assist the member in developing coping strategies and accessing necessary resources where applicable.
Intermittent Absence Support – Employees struggling with mental health issues may have more short duration or incidental absences. Intermittent Absence Support will work with you to identify the root cause of the absences, if future absences may be expected and, will work with you and the employee to determine any necessary ongoing supports.
Workplace Solutions for Mental Health – Manager Training – An interactive training program providing managers with the skills and information to respond confidently and proactively when they feel an employee’s psychological safety is at risk or they are showing early signs of mental illness.
Workplace interventions: consultants work on intervening in the workplace to evaluate the health of the organization. By dealing with problems between workers resulted in low productivity in addition to the effect it has on focus of the department. Our consultants assess, build, and implement the best way to deal with such cases, improving workplace mental health and wellness.
Mental evaluation ordered by supervisor: This service is offered to ensure shareholders that employees are performing their best. Supervisors are usually requesting this evaluation when employees behave oddly or when they have poor work performance. Sound heart provides a legitimate evaluation to assess mental health in the workplace.
Favoritism: our case consultants will thoughtfully investigate work place operations to detect any marginalizing activity affecting employees. using questionnaires, individual assessments, department assessment and interview (group and personal) to find, fix and predict future problems. As a result, employees emotional and mental health will stabilize increasing their productivity.
WE ALSO OFFER CASE SENSITIVE IMPROVEMENTS:
ABSENCE AND DISABILITY CASE MANAGERS: Our case managers work directly with plan members who may be at work but struggling, or are off work. They ensure the plan member has access to and is following an appropriate treatment plan, as well as support them throughout their recovery and return to health. Case managers follow a best practices case management model, designed by our Mental Health Specialists, for mental health claims, using specific resources and protocols at certain points throughout the life of a claim.
DISABILITY MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS: Disability management consultants (DMC) work with plan sponsors to assess disability data, identify mental health trends, provide disability management best practices and provide strategic recommendations to reduce the impact of mental illness in the workplace.
HEALTH MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS: Health management consultants work with plan sponsors to evaluate the health of the organization. They help assess, build, implement and measure targeted wellness strategies with the goal of improving workplace mental health and wellness.
REHABILITATION CONSULTANTS Our in-house rehabilitation consultants specialize in return to work facilitation, functional assessment and accommodation, and vocational services. They provide hands-on support to employees, facilitating access to appropriate treatment and working directly with them, the employer and the health care team to optimize treatment, recovery and a successful return to work.
