Employees with disabilities are more suceptible to mental health issues.

A clear distinction is often made between ‘mind’ and ‘body’ when it comes to employers supporting employees with disabilities, with the focus historically having being on the physical condition. However we believe more employers need to recognise the importance of providing mental wellbeing support to people with disabilities too – not simply because they have a duty to provide the same benefits as they do for able bodied employees – but also because this group is particularly vulnerable to the development of anxiety and depression and other mental health conditions.

It’s very old fashioned, but some employers still think that they they’re ticking the boxes if they have made their premises easily accessible. Support for people with disabilities needs to go way beyond this.

According to the Papworth Trust, around a fifth of the workforce has a disability; and where that is a hidden disability, the employer is even less likely to provide emotional support for the individual, simply because the condition is not as immediately obvious.

Key mental health considerations for employers who have employees with a disability:

• Staff with acquired rather than congenital disabilities often find the workplace a harder place to cope as they need to adjust to their new norm, and dealing with a new disability can have huge consequences for their mental health.
• Disabled staff may need new skills, either to learn how to work with their new disability and/or to find new opportunities.
• Disability can affect an individual’s mental wellbeing greatly – they may feel invisible or excluded, which affects their confidence.
• Disabled staff often feel judged – especially if their level of disability varies. This can increase feelings of isolation and low self-worth.
• Depending on the type and severity of the disability, tasks can take longer to do and this can be demoralising which can mean they avoid tasks altogether which further increases the risk of isolation, loneliness and depression.
• No matter how supportive the employer, many recently disabled people find it difficult to talk to their employer and line manager.

Phases of an acquired disability

There are various phases of response in individuals who acquire a new disability – they often range between shock, denial, anger, to hopefully eventual acknowledgment and adjustment. Even if the physical condition is being well-managed, this process can be extremely turbulent for anyone to deal with – especially if the individual also has financial concerns or worries about a return to work.

Inclusivity

The good news is that every kind of workplace can be made inclusive through things such as flexibility in working patterns and a supportive culture. As a starting point, all employers can assess their group insurance policies to identify what mental health support is provided for individual employees, as well as training for the HR team, and line managers too. Many policies provide mental health support to all employees even if the financial aspect of the insurance is limited to specific groups of staff. And the benefit of using a third party means than employees can get fast access to professional and confidential support which is usually their preferred option over speaking to a colleague.

The barriers in providing mental health support for people with disabilities are usually easy to break down as they are often more about a general lack of awareness: on the whole. organisations are receptive to taking pro-active steps. In fact, many organisations may find that they already offer mental health support to all staff at no extra cost because it’s built in to their insurance products – they just didn’t know it was there or think to communicate it.