Return to work, work accommodation and mental health

How can work be accommodated for mental health conditions?

Accommodate work on an individual basis. When an employee has mental disorders, choose the work accommodation methods based on symptoms that make coping at work difficult for the employee. For example, if sleep disorders are the primary symptom and they affect the employee’s ability to concentrate, agree on more flexible working hours if the work in question allows it.

Remember that work accommodation depends on the individual. Agreeing on remote work, for example, may help tackle challenges in concentration, if the employee is able to concentrate on work better at home than at the workplace. However, challenges in concentration may also in some situations be better alleviated by physical presence at the workplace, where help and support in practical matters is more readily available.

Always discuss work accommodation and the various options with the employee first. Remember that work accommodation does not need to be limited to reducing and limiting the work. Work accommodation can also consist of supporting resources. You can increase work resources by, for example, ensuring a quiet workspace, clarifying tasks and encouraging possibilities for regulating mood and emotions.

Consider the work community

Also consider how the work accommodation measures affect the rest of the work community. While you are not allowed to discuss an employee’s health or illness with the work community, you should tell them what kind of work accommodation measures you have agreed on and for how long. Work accommodation measures have been proven to succeed best when they are perceived as fair and justified by the work community.

Once you have agreed on the work accommodation measures with the employee, remember to also agree on how you will evaluate their effectiveness. Especially in the beginning, be sure to monitor regularly, together with the employee, how the accommodated work is going. Evaluate together whether additional accommodation measures are needed or whether there is no longer any need for accommodation.

Remember that work can be accommodated in a wide range of situations. Work can and should be accommodated at an early stage. Work accommodation is often relevant when an employee returns from a long sick leave, partial sickness allowance period or work trial. Work accommodation measures are often agreed for a fixed term. However, some cases may require agreeing on a permanent change in the job profile. For example, shift work is generally not recommended for a person with bipolar disorder.

Examples of ways to accommodate work in mental disorders

Below you can find concrete examples on how you can accommodate work in different situations.

Concentration and memory

• Limit the tasks so that the employee can focus only on one or a few specific tasks.
• Cut the tasks into smaller parts.
• Accommodate goals or schedules.
• Ensure a peaceful work environment so that employees can focus on work without constant interruptions.
• Organise working hours: regular or shortened working hours, avoiding overtime, transferring from evening or night shifts to daytime work.
• Encourage flexible work, for example the possibility to do remote work and divide up vacation times according to one’s needs.
• Look for alternatives to commuting.

Social situations

• Name a work-partner or support person for the employee.
• Give the employee the opportunity to work in a smaller group.
• Reduce the social workload by, for example, reducing customer interaction or supervisor responsibilities.
• Give the employee the possibility to leave situations that they do not feel comfortable in.

Regulation of mood and emotions

• Encourage the employee and give them feedback on their successes.
• Give the employee the possibility to take enough breaks and recover sufficiently during working hours.
• If the nature of the work allows it, give the employee the possibility to listen to music while working.
• Agree on clear work tasks and enable success at work.