FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE // HUMAN RESOURCES
Focus on the People MANAGING MENTAL HEALTH DISABILITY CLAIMS
BY ERLYNN GOCOCO
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ith more than 300 million people affected, the World Health Organization (WHO) says depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. The impact is ricocheting in the workplace, resulting in an increased number of disability claims. “In our experience, short-term mental disability claims are on the rise,” says Eleanor Culver, president of REAL HR. “With our clients, we are seeing younger employees that are not only more aware of their needs, when it comes to mental health hygiene, but also more willing to speak up about those needs.” Culver adds that employees with a more “old-school approach” to mental health do not always necessarily know when there is something going on with them. More often than not, these employees will try to ignore and/or hide any symptoms. This, says Culver, is likely one of the main reasons we are seeing an increase in the probability of longterm disability claims for mental health reasons. In response to the rise in mental health disability claims, Manulife’s head of global benefits and wellness, Maria Fraga, says the company launched a $10,000 fully-paid mental health benefit for employees and their family members in Canada in 2017.
“Since that benefit launch, we have seen a reduction in the number of mental health-related disability claims compared to data from 2016 and earlier. We have also seen return-towork cases increase during this period.
ABOVE: MARIA FRAGA, HEAD OF GLOBAL BENEFITS AND WELLNESS, MANULIFE PHOTO SOURCE: MANULIFE
BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019
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