Employee Mental Health, Interpersonal Discrimination at Work, and How Human Resources Can Help

Poor mental health, such as depression, anxiety disorder, and substance abuse disorder, is a common health impairment across the world. For example, since 2019, 50 million adults in the U.S. have experienced poor mental health, and in Canada, approximately 500,000 working adults are unfit to work each week due to poor mental health. Given the prevalence and costs associated with mental health conditions, there is an increasing need to better understand the work experiences of employees experiencing poor mental health. The papers in our symposium join the bourgeoning body of research studying mental health, with an emphasis on the interpersonal dynamics that surround mental health at work. Each considers various forms of interpersonal or subtle discrimination employees might encounter at work as a result of stigma towards mental health. Together the papers represent different lens, including how leaders respond to their employees’ disclosure of a mental health identity, how employees respond to their leaders’ poor mental health, and how employees’ respond to coworkers’ mental health accommodations. The symposium will conclude on a more positive note with a discussion around what organizations can do to help alleviate some of these detrimental interpersonal dynamics. Under Pressure: Exploring Mental Health Disclosures and Supervisor Reactions Author: Ekonkar Kaur; U. of Washington, Seattle Author: Ryan Fehr; U. of Washington, Seattle Employees’ Perceptions of Fairness towards Coworkers’ Accommodations for Mental Health Conditions Author: Daniel James Quintal-Curcic; Telfer School of Management, U. of Ottawa Author: Jane O'Reilly; Telfer School of Management, U. of Ottawa Author: Laurent Lapierre; Telfer School of Management, U. of Ottawa Author: Silvia Bonaccio; Telfer School of Management, U. of Ottawa Mental Illness Stigma Towards Leaders: Consequences for Followers’ Motivation and Performance Author: Michaela Scanlon; Smith School of Business, Queen's U. Author: Julian Barling; Queen's U. Senior Leaders’ Perceptions of the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety at Work Author: Amanda J. Hancock; U. of Regina Author: Kara Anne Arnold; Memorial U. of Newfoundland Author: Ivy Bourgeault; U. of Ottawa