Mental illness costs the Canadian economy a lot

[mentalfloss]

Mental illness costs the Canadian economy a lot

Mental illness takes a heavy toll on people’s lives. But it also imposes a high cost on the Canadian economy, according to a report by the Conference Board of Canada.

“When workers have poor mental health, they have a lessened capacity to perform to their utmost,” said Diana MacKay, who prepared the report. “Sometimes workers with mental illnesses drop out of the work force completely.”

The report estimates that the loss of potential labour costs the Canadian economy $20-billion a year.

Ms. MacKay noted that many people who suffer from mental illness have job skills that are in great demand. It’s more cost-effective to keep them working, rather than recruit and train new employees, she added.

So, for employers, “there is a huge motivation” to make workplaces more accommodating for people with mental illnesses, such as depression, bipolar disorder, social phobia, panic disorder and acrophobia. “Even getting just some of that lost supply back in the supply chain of workers would be a big plus for the economy,” she said.

Mental illness costs the Canada economy a lot - The Globe and Mail

 

[damngrumpy]

Yes and most of the mentally ill sit on the benches of parliament and the senate.
Seriously this is a problem and one of the main reasons for some of the failures
of past job creation programs reflect on the effect mental illness has on us all.
For example we will retrain people to secure new employment in another field
without ever addressing the trauma suffered when their job, career and sometimes
way of life collapsed underneath them.
We can improve skills and education and training but what about the emotional
impact the loss of their jobs and sometimes homes and families have had.
I think an assessment should be done before the government spends a dime on
retraining a person. We know they may be physically able to do the new work
but are they mentally prepared and how much must be invested to ensure the
retrained worker can perform to the demands of the new career.
These are all part of the factors that lead to success of failure, depression, anxiety
and mental illness in general must be factored in and at present it is not.

 

[relic]

Steve seems to think that prison is the best place for 'em,works out great that a lot of them have drug problems too,so you can get person the "help" they need and strike a blow in the "WAR ON DRUGS"{cue dramatic music}.

 

[JLM]

Yes and most of the mentally ill sit on the benches of parliament and the senate.
Seriously this is a problem and one of the main reasons for some of the failures
of past job creation programs reflect on the effect mental illness has on us all.
For example we will retrain people to secure new employment in another field
without ever addressing the trauma suffered when their job, career and sometimes
way of life collapsed underneath them.
We can improve skills and education and training but what about the emotional
impact the loss of their jobs and sometimes homes and families have had.
I think an assessment should be done before the government spends a dime on
retraining a person. We know they may be physically able to do the new work
but are they mentally prepared and how much must be invested to ensure the
retrained worker can perform to the demands of the new career.
These are all part of the factors that lead to success of failure, depression, anxiety
and mental illness in general must be factored in and at present it is not.

In a round about way that kind of fits in with my philosophy that you fix up what you have before acquiring new. (maybe a pretty weak analogy)