The business case: collaborating to help employees maintain their mental well-being

There has been a change in the mindset of businesses in recent years. Companies are starting to realize that proactively helping their employees to maintain mental health is beneficial, both for their workers and their business. In this article, we present three different but complementary views - those of an advocate, an employer and a provider - on helping employees maintain mental, and physical, health. In the first section, Sari Sairanen outlines programs and services to manage stress and maintain mental health that have been developed by the Canadian Auto Workers' union and implemented in partnership with employers, wellness providers, service agencies and other community partners. The union focuses on raising awareness and providing education, as well as removing the stigma associated with mental illness. Deanna Matzanke, in her section, discusses the commitment of a company, Scotiabank, to create and maintain an inclusive and accessible workplace for all its employees. It has recently worked with providers to develop and implement integrated services dealing specifically with mental health illness and addiction, which aid not only its current employees but also possible future employees. Finally, Doug Smeall shares his observations as an insurer at Sun Life Financial, who has seen the rates of both short-term and long-term disabilities increase. He elaborates on the collaborative work between insurers and employers to help employees maintain their mental health, and to return to work sooner when issues do occur. Ultimately, this article argues that unions, employers and insurers can work together with partners and employees to promote and maintain employee health because, as Sairanen asserts, "preventing a problem in the first place is the best strategy."