“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
Depressed. Anxious. Stressed. We were all of these things even before the pandemic hit. Now, facing a long winter of isolation and uncertainty, Albertans are increasingly finding themselves at their breaking point.
The pandemic has taken a massive toll on mental wellbeing across the board. A recent report revealed that as of late August, about 30% of adults in Canada reported symptoms of acute anxiety. That’s triple the rate in 2019. And according to another report, 25% of young adults ages 18 to 24 had seriously considered suicide in the past month.
In short, we are barreling toward a second pandemic, a collective PTSD, a mental health reckoning.
Yet despite this enormous and growing toll, many employers take an ad hoc approach to handling worker depression. Many managers become aware of mental health issues only when they investigate why a team member is performing poorly. But this reactionary response is what’s driving WCB and group premiums skyward, burying HR/HSE staff under disability management, and ultimately causing all manner of operational grief.
Blue Collar helps employers keep ill/injured workers connected to the workplace, and even prevents medical absence to begin with. This in part explains how we can navigate your passage through the stormy waters ahead.
