Benefits of helping people stay at or return to work

Benefits of supporting people to stay at work

Benefits for individuals

Being at work can play a vital role in helping someone during a period of mental ill-health. Some of the benefits demonstrated by research include:

• helping improve health outcomes
• giving structure and routine to day-to-day life
• creating a sense of meaning and purpose
• providing financial benefits such as a source of income and financial independence 
• continuing social connections and interaction with others
• contributing to a sense of identity and belonging.

In contrast, long periods out of the workforce can make it harder to return to work and can lead to increased mental ill-health over time.

The benefits of work are not just financial—work builds connections, provides structure and creates meaning and purpose. That’s why it’s so important to help people experiencing mental ill-health stay at work or return to work. 

Benefits for workplaces

Supporting people to stay at work or return to work also benefits workplaces by:

• retaining valuable skills, knowledge and experience
• avoiding the costs of hiring and training new workers
• reducing costs associated with leave (e.g. sick leave) and workers compensation 
• creating an open, positive and caring workplace culture, that benefits all workers. 

Benefits for communities

The broader community also benefits when people are supported to stay at work or return to work during a period of mental ill-health. This is because the longer people are away from work, the less likely it is that they will ever return to work. Over time, this can lead to things such as financial distress, family breakdowns and other impacts that extend into families and communities.

Helping people return to work can ensure that their valuable skills and knowledge are being shared and help Australian workplaces be more inclusive.

Legal requirements related to stay at work and return to work

In addition to these social, emotional and financial benefits, having robust systems to help people to stay at work or return to work during periods of mental ill-health can also help achieve compliance with relevant legislated requirements.

There are general requirements to make reasonable adjustments to support people to stay at work where these are possible. These requirements exist when a person has a disability (including mental illness) as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. 

If the period of mental ill-health was due to a work-related psychological injury, there may also be additional legal requirements under workers compensation legislation.

However, although workplaces may have obligations to support people to return to work, it is essential this is done in a manner that supports their mental health. Where workers are pressured to return to work before they are physically or psychologically ready may negatively impact their mental health. 

Therefore, it is important that organisations bring together workers, managers, teams and health professionals to support people to stay at work or return to work.