Rob McCreath on the fallout from a high–octane workplace
The workplace is for robust, healthy people, yes? Ill people, especially mentally ill people, should be cared for elsewhere, somewhere out of sight. They should certainly not be recruited and if they slip through the nets craftily set up by the HR department, or if they become ill during employment, they should be discreetly managed out. This is essentially the approach taken by most UK employers. Many would say, in a tough world, it makes good business sense.
But consider this: on average, employers should expect to find that at any one time nearly one in six of their workforce is affected by a mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety. The proportion rises to over one in five if alcohol and drug dependence are also included.
Undoubtedly there are legal risks for employers arising from mental illness in the workplace. Personal injury claims arising where stressful working conditions foreseeably cause psychiatric injury routinely yield compensation payments of six figures or more. Many jobs, particularly
