Employer attitudes towards accommodations in mental health disability

Abstract

It has been almost a decade since the World Health Organization brought to light the impact of mental health disorders worldwide (WHO, 2001). The report states that mental health disorders are one of the ten leading causes of disability and account for 10.5% of the global burden of all illness (Standing Senate committe, 2004). Moreover, depression alone constitutes the second highest burden of disease worldwide (Murray and Lopez 1996). The costs associated with mental health-disabilities are rising and are predicted to continue in this fashion. The aggregate yearly cost of mental health disabilities constitutes about 2.5% of the Gross National Product (GNP) (WHO 2001). Furthermore, estimated costs to the U.S. economy reached $47.4 billion by 1992 (Rice et al. 1992). Clearly, mental health disabilities are prevalent and costly (as described in the chapter by Dewa and McDaid 2010, this volume which provides a comprehensive analysis of the epidemiological and economic impact of mental health disorders in the workplace). © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.