As HR professionals and employers, when we hear about our employee's medical issues it is typically easy to support them through the leave process; but with the uncertainty, stigma and nuance that mental health conditions can bring, employers tend to shy away from the conversation or are not confident in how to approach it.
I feel strongly and passionately about wanting employers to feel confident in talking with employees about their mental health conditions, asking questions about what type of support they need and feeling certain about what laws apply to the circumstances they are faced with. Decision making is not easy when it comes to complex issues, but my goal is that my paper makes it easier to walk through mental health issues in the workplace with ease. In my experience so far, I have been faced with situations in which I knew exactly what to do to support an employee's mental health and there have been way more examples of feeling as though I had to immediately accommodate without asking any questions or clarifying the facts. To me, the paper I wrote for our capstone course, is the one that I wish I had when facing these type of situations.
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