Harnessing the Clouds: How to Spot, Respond, and Manage Employee Mental Health Issues◢
Overview
Employee mental health has become one of the hottest—and most challenging—issues facing employers in the modern workplace. In 2024, more employees took leave for mental health than for accidents, cancer, heart disease, and heart attacks combined. Mental health was also the leading driver behind accommodation requests, like working from home and intermittent absences. This leaves employers wondering if they’re doing enough to spot and respond to mental health issue…or if they’re doing too much.
In this HR Hotspot, Jenifer Lambert of Verstela and Jodi Slavik of Vigilant Law Group jump feet-first into the grey area of mental health, discussing current data and trends, as well as the impact of disasters, like wildfire and floods, on employee behavior. With live input from the audience, they will also talk about the signs of mental illness at work, how to respond legally and with empathy, and the employer’s role in disability notice, interaction, and effective resolutio
After this webinar, you’ll be able to:
• Understand the meaning and scope of mental illness in the U.S.
• Know when potential mental health issues are happening at work.
• Use three empathetic questions to get the key information needed.
• Avoid some of the most common interactive process mistakes.
• Access resources to generate creative—and feasible—mental health accommodations.
About the speaker
Jodi Slavik
Vigilant Law Group
At Vigilant Law Group, Jodi proudly provides counsel to Washington State businesses on a suite of employment issues, including handbook development, internal investigations, administrative complaint responses, leave tracking, and wage and hour compliance. Her goal is to help employers sleep at night by giving them immediate, relatable, and realistic advice to the stickiest employee problems. As Vigilant’s Strategic Services Director, Jodi is also responsible for stability and growth of major accounts, as well as ensuring unparalleled service for Vigilant member companies. Jodi is a self-professed lover of all things fun and funny, which means she’s happiest when sitting in the sun, having a glass of wine, and guffawing with friends.
Jenifer Lambert
Verstela
Jenifer is the Chief Strategy Officer of Verstela, one of the fastest growing staffing firms in North America and a recipient of the Best of Staffing award for client satisfaction scores in the top 2% of the U.S. fourteen years running. Jen and her team provide staffing, recruiting and consultation to clients across broad industries and talent categories including manufacturing, distribution/logistics, call center, technology and engineering.