Staying at Work with Mental Health Needs

By Michael Klachefsky

Principal
Absence, Productivity, and HR Consulting

Some of the most difficult absence types for employers, carriers, and third-party administrators (TPAs) to identify and address are related to an employee’s mental health.

Everyone’s goal is to help the employee either stay at work or return to work (RTW), particularly in shorter absences that fall under short-term disability (STD) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Often, the employee is not replaced, and the work group must make up for the lost productivity; or they are replaced either by someone working overtime or an inexperienced temporary worker. Many employers have become aware of these productivity issues, and are evolving absence management tools through their STD, long-term disability (LTD), FMLA, and other leave administration systems.

The average cost of an STD mental health claim is $6,032, the second highest cost after cancer.¹ The majority of these claims are for depression or anxiety-related disorders. Just as organizations promote management of chronic physical conditions such as diabetes and asthma to reduce frequency and duration of disability absences, they would be equally well-served by better understanding when and how to provide mental health resources.

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