¬¬Julia Sewall
WRTG 391/Professor Burstrem
July 7, 2015
Abstract
Anxiety and Depression in the work place is a large problem for employers and employees This paper will outline what the American Disability Act states regarding reasonable accommodation and undue hardship, the effects of anxiety and depression in the work place and general recommendations for employers on how to work with individuals who have anxiety or depression.
Introduction
Depression, characterized by symptoms of, poor concentration, lack of motivation restlessness, irritability, fatigue, lack of decision making capacity, problems sleeping, a hard time concentrating, lack of interest in activities, and difficulty remembering task instructions, affects 20-55% of adults
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However, Waghorn et al. (2014) found a more complex pattern that those with anxiety disorders reported working both proportionally fewer hours and proportionally more hours than those who did not have an anxiety disorder; 16.7% versus 12.7% worked 0-15hours per week, and 9.9% versus 4.1% worked 70-97 hours a week. This is not surprising that those with an anxiety disorder would work either fewer hours or more hours than the health comparison group. Individuals with anxiety may not feel up to working because they are overly anxious and cannot properly function, or the opposite may be true, that if they are feeling overly anxious about work then this may create an obsession and they will not cease working until they are finished with the project or task. In opposition to Waghorn et al. (2014)’s findings, other studies have shown that there are higher rates of absenteeism for individuals with depression or anxiety disorders rather than higher rates of attendance even for employees who have been remitted. Within the last 6 months, individuals with depressive disorder missed, on average, 7.2 workweeks. Those with anxiety disorder missed, on average, 5.9 workweeks. Healthy participants missed, on average, 1.2 workweeks. Those who had a remitted depressive disorder were still likely to have higher short-term absenteeism (i.e. less than 2 weeks) compared to healthy controls; …show more content…
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According to Gary Dessler, “employers with 15 or more workers are prohibited from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities with regard to applications, hiring, discharge, compensation, advancement, training, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. It also says that employers must make ‘reasonable accommodations’ for physical or mental limitations unless doing so imposes an ‘undue hardship’ on the business.” It not only prohibits discrimination in employment but also outlaws most physical barriers in public accommodations, transportation, telecommunications, and government services.
Disability is an impairment is a life changing condition that limits one’s physical or mental abilities. Disabilities comes in many forms such as blindness, hearing, speech disorder, loss of vision. and memory. As well as, chronic illness such as diabetes, HIV, obesity. Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) employers, cannot discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities when hiring, firing, job promotion, distribution of benefits and privileges. In addition, by law, employers must make reasonable effort to modify work equipment and job settings for people with disabilities. Such as job schedules, employee training and communication devices; without causing an undue hardship, significant difficulty
Individuals with disabilities continually encounter various forms of discrimination, including intentional exclusion from certain work areas, that denies them the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and to pursue those opportunities that guarantees success in the society. To guarantee success there is expectation regarding the relationship between the employer and employee, giving close attention to the various factors that should be considered to make the person with disability successful. This paper outlines the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the terms and conditions covering employees and employers as stated in Title 1. Title 1, as amended by the ADA amendment 2008, states that no covered entity will discriminate against a qualified individual based on disability (EEOC, 2015).
Every person in the organization with a disability has a different need. Organizations work around the clock in many occasions to comply with the accommodations of each individual in the organization. Educating staff in how to comply with the requirements of ADA can be quite challenging. Organizations are afraid to hire, retain or accommodate workers with disabilities because of lack of awareness of disability and accommodations issues, concern over costs, and legal liability (Kaye et al., 2011). It is therefore the responsibility of the organization to educate management about the law and train on disabilities and accommodations. The guidelines, regulations, and building codes should be implemented to make the facility more welcoming and inviting to workers with disabilities (Stryker, R. (2013).
The method being used in the study is to use participants from different demographics, on four very different vocational programs to see exactly what program is a better fit for individuals with all different types of vocational challenges. The “Who Benefits From Supported Employment Study (2011) describes the sample size as, “4 Randomized Control Trials of IPS vs usual services. All 4 studies compared a newly established IPS program with one or more well-established vocational programs. In all 4 studies, participants were recruited from mental health centers (or a psychiatric rehabilitation agency in the Chicago Study). Participants were adults who met each state's criteria for SMI, typically a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) (DSM-IV) Axis I or II diagnosis plus severe and persistent impairment in psychosocial functioning. All participants were unemployed at the time of study admission. Other common eligibility criteria included desire for competitive work, ability and willingness to give informed consent, and absence of significant medical conditions that would preclude working or participating in assessment interviews. In addition, all participants were required to attend multiple research information meetings in which the project was explained, after which they gave written informed consent to participate in the study. All 4 studies used a similar protocol to track employment outcomes and psychiatric symptoms. Importantly, none of the studies excluded clients on the basis of illness severity, lack of readiness, poor job history, or other clinical factors.("Who Benefits From Supported Employment", 2011).” Again, the problem is being identified as employment while battling with substance abuse and SMI, and the Method is data analysis by
As part of Fanshawe College’s diversity initiative, here is the report that I conducted to assess the accommodation of employees with disabilities (EWDs) in our workplace. This study includes a review of employers’ misconceptions about hiring persons with disabilities (PWDs), the benefits of including EWDs in the workplace, and recommended workplace accommodations for EWDs.
The next work based intervention, “Effectiveness of a Workplace-Based Intervention Program to Promote Mental Health among Employees in Privately Owned Enterprises in China” focuses on improving mental health in Credibility Retail Enterprise employees by implementing activities based on individualized survey feedback on an organizational level. Activities and policy implementation focus would be on work related factors that contributed to depressive symptoms such as overtime hours, conflicts with management or other employees, work environment, and more. Overall, the success results of the intervention were good with improvements of employee workability, and significant improvements of ability to meet mental requirements. Mental requirements
be protected by the A.D.A. this person must have a long standing record of this
People with disabilities struggle to find employment opportunities and retain positions. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor statistics reported that 17.5% of people with disabilities were employed. This is much lower than the 65% of people without a disability (BLS, 2016). People with disabilities may struggle to find employment due to limited training and educational opportunities and restrictions on mobility. They encounter negative stigma from employers and peers who may feel that modifications will be needed to assist limitations (Elliot & Leung, 2004). Employment is a basic right for every citizen and is important for many reasons. Employment improves people’s physical and mental well-being (Kessler et al., 1987; Moser
Disability is issue that require both the motivation and global mobility of all public and private sectors. It is the issue is not limited to the individual role, but is an issue the entire community. They need more attention by creating suitable environment and providing education and work for them. Therefore, the US government issued legislation and laws to save disability rights. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it required to provide reasonable accommodation, which include suitable and work environment to create equal opportunities and benefits like others.
In order to incorporate a health promotion focus, the article could identify how social determinants such as employment issues can impact on anxiety. It has been shown that when employers and employees undertake initiatives to create better work environments, and to promote good mental health among employees, that levels of anxiety and depression among the work force were significantly reduced (reference
5. Perhaps one of the most important protections for employees is the requirement that employers provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees. Reasonable accommodations empower us to think creatively about how a job is performed. Sometimes just by thinking outside of the box and by engaging in the interactive process, employees and employers alike are able to identify solutions to keep an employee in the workforce. From adaptive equipment to modified schedules to restructured job duties to auxiliary aids and services, the list of possible accommodations that enable an employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job is endless.
Human Resource Development Professionals are faced with a kaleidoscope of issues relating to the ability of employees to perform their work and how to adjust the workplace environment to meet the needs of disabled individuals in compliance with numerous laws set forth both at the state and federal levels. These laws and the rights to reason accommodations as they pertain to the stigma of employees with mental illness are the bases of this paper. First we will address what issues are most commonly seen by counselors in the workplace. Next, we will preview the five signs of emotional distress. Finally, a brief list of acceptable reasonable accommodations for those individuals who have been deemed
Job Accommodations for applicants and workers with disabilities when such accommodations would not impose "undue hardship;" and
In a three-month period, individuals with depression miss an average of 4.8 workdays and suffer 11.5 days of reduced productivity (Ref,), resulting in an estimated 91 million working days being lost every year to mental ill-health (The Mental Health Foundation, 1999). These figures are higher than those resulting from a physical illness or injury.