Thomas Stefanik was quoted by Canadian HR Reporter

How to handle a request for mental health accommodation

Thomas Stefanik was interviewed by Canadian HR Reporter on the increase in stress levels throughout the pandemic and how employers should respond. 

Throughout the pandemic, stress levels have been a concern. And two years into the crisis, those numbers continue to climb.

Inevitably, these higher stress levels will lead to requests for mental health accommodation, so how should employers respond?

“It could be a serious mental health illness or it could just be someone struggling in the short term to deal with a situation,” he says. “So employers have to be wary of one size fits all doesn't work; they have to understand that employees have different needs, employees may have different requirements. And so simply calling everything ‘mental health’ might be overly simplistic and might lead to poor management.”

“Trying to identify why the employee is struggling, if they're struggling, is the first step, and there may not be an easy answer, but I think that question has to be asked.”

“It could be a serious mental health illness or it could just be someone struggling in the short term to deal with a situation,” he says. “So employers have to be wary of one size fits all doesn't work; they have to understand that employees have different needs, employees may have different requirements. And so simply calling everything ‘mental health’ might be overly simplistic and might lead to poor management.”

To read the full article, please visit the Canadian HR Reporter website.