Scientific interpretation – Work as an ally in recovery from a mental health disorder

A Global-Watch scientific interpretation by

Camille Roberge, Ph.D. in Work and Organizational Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. 

This initiative is supported by the Chief Scientist of Quebec with the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

Imagine yourself gathered around a table or a screen with a dozen colleagues for an important meeting to identify potential solutions to your organization's current workforce challenges. Did you know that at least three of them will experience a mental health disorder at some point in their lives?

While some of them will continue working despite experiencing symptoms related to the psychological distress caused by their mental health disorder, others will struggle and need to take time off to recover. In both cases, the question arises: can work be an ally in the recovery from a mental health disorder?

To answer this question, Roberge and colleagues (2022) study focused on the mechanisms that could explain how work can be a positive factor in recovery, as well as the levers that can maximize, or conversely, the barriers that can neutralize the positive role of work in the recovery from a mental health disorder.

Key concepts 

Mental health disorders

Disruption of a person's health that results in changes affecting their thinking, mood, or behavior, which impairs their functioning and causes distress³. Anxiety and depression are among the most common mental health disorders in the workplace.

Sense of self-efficacy

Relative belief in one’s ability and aptitudes to cope with life’s events and challenges encountered⁴.

Stigmatization

A form of shame, disgrace, or disapproval toward a group of people due to their personal situation (e.g., mental health disorder). Stigmatization can come from peers, leading to the person being avoided or rejected, or it can come from oneself (self-stigmatization), which sometimes results in avoidance, fear of judgment, and non-disclosure of the mental health disorder⁵.

Demands

Demands that refer to the cognitive (e.g., task complexity, contradictory instructions, changes), emotional (e.g., customer service), physical (e.g., long hours of standing), and social (e.g., expectations from colleagues or the manager) required while working⁶.

Resources

Internal resources (e.g., skills, energy) or external resources (e.g., level of autonomy, social support from colleagues or the manager) that help an individual meet the demands of their job⁶.