2 3 INSTITUTE FOR WORK & HEALTH
• Seeing a specialist can be expensive. Consider your workplace's
health benefits program and whether its mental health allowance is
proportionate to the cost of treatment, and whether the services are
grouped together in a way that allows for flexibility of use.
• The shortage of specialists may lead to workers being scheduled for
appointments during working hours. Consider flexible scheduling or
creative accommodations to allow workers to attend appointments.
Julian was diagnosed with depression in his teen years, and he knew what worked for him in terms of
treatment: a monthly therapy session and medication.
One winter, he started experiencing a particularly severe episode of depression and realized he needed to
modify his treatment accordingly. He asked to see his psychologist weekly rather than monthly.
Julian approached his HR manager, Aasim, and asked if he could not be scheduled to work shifts
on Tuesday mornings for the next few months. He explained that he had a recurring health-related
appointment every week during that time.
While it took some coordination with other team members, Aasim was able to ensure that Julian's Tuesday
morning shifts would be covered. Thanks to the workplace's generous allowance for psychologist visits,
Julian was able to adjust his treatments and stay at work while attending to his depression symptoms.
Case Study:
A flexible work schedule
