United States Annotated Bibliography Page 65 - Mental Health in the workplace

This study by the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment examines efforts under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the area of psychiatric disabilities and employment and reviews data that may assist future implementation. This assessment has two major goals. The first is to compare ADA's employment provisions with what is known about mental disorder- based or psychiatric disabilities. The second goal is to review federal activities relevant to the ADA, employment and psychiatric disabilities. This report presents the following information: 1) provides an overview of the ADA requirements and the political and legal antecedents; 2) presents discussion of the ADA's definition of disability and its potential impact on people with psychiatric disabilities. A description of psychiatric disabilities, their prevalence, common symptoms, and treatment, associated functional limitation, and their impact on employment is also presented; 3) examines many of the critical requirements of Title I of the ADA, including disclosure, qualification standards, reasonable accommodations, and the issue of direct threat. The ADA's potential impact on mental health benefits is also discussed; and 4) reveiws federal enforcement, technical assistance, and research support related to the ADA, psychiatric disabilities, and employment.

This report is based on a major survey of a representative sample of U.S. workers focusing on what is actually occurring at work and in their personal lives. Based on lengthy interviews with thousands of wage and salary earners across the United States, it provides a view of workers today as well as a comparisonwith the last 20 years. The survey was designed in part to parallel the U.S. Labor Department's 1977 Quality of Employment Survey. From the changing roles of men and women to the characteristics of work most related to loyalty, retention, and job satisfaction, this report address employers, policy-makers, labor organizations researchers and anyone who works.

This series examines the impact of job stress on the employee health. issues discussed: Causes of job stress; declines in employee commitment as job stress builds; job stress and lost productivity; impact of firing an employee (the second leading source of workplace stress); worker loyalty; mental disability, reasonable accommodations, and court rulings; the "crunch" of work/family demands on employees; staffing shortage on the rise; and EEOC's guidelines on psychiatric disabilities.

The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. is the oldest wholly employee-owned company in the United States. BNA is a leading publisher of print and electronic news and information reporting on development in health care, business, labor relations, law, economics, taxation, environmental protection, safety and other public policy and regulatory issues. BNA produces more than 200 news and information services and numerous dailies, including the Daily Report for Executive and Daily Labor Report. BNA's Policy and Practice Series covers the following: The Personnel/Human Resources Dept; Counseling and Employee Assistance Programs; Work Life Benefits; Health Promotion, Wellness and Medical Programs and Services; Video Display Terminals; Mental Health and Substance Abuse; Eldercare Programs and Services; Workers' Compensation General Provisions and Psychiatric Disabilities and the ADA.

Mental Health in the Workplace