Responding to Alzheimer's in the Workplace
(Image Credit: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash)
A huge part of your people strategy should be creating a safe, comfortable, and inclusive space for everyone. This includes those who might be facing the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease in the workplace. January is Alzheimer’s Awareness month and we hope to help you make your company as accommodating as possible.
A little background
Alzheimer’s is a disease that destroys the brain cells which leads one’s memory and ability to think to deteriorate over time. Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging and is irreversible to those who get it.
According to the Alzheimer’s Society, up to 10% of all cases of dementia start before the age of 65, and the World Health Organization reports in, Dementia: A public health priority that the risk for dementia doubles every five years after age 65. That means that Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia with 60 to 80% of diagnoses being Alzheimer’s disease. Along with this, over 40,000 people under 65 in the United Kingdom have dementia, and this is known as early-onset or young-onset dementia, which shows how this disease does not only affect older people.
Finding out one of your loved ones or employees has Alzheimer’s can be difficult due to the nature of the disease, but they don’t have to face it alone. What a lot of people don’t know is that many companies offer resources for their employees to help them navigate through the challenges of Alzheimer’s in the workplace.
It’s important to note that in many workplaces it is prohibited to ask about an employee’s mental health and if an employee has not disclosed the information about having Alzheimer’s disease, it can be hard to assess the situation. Thankfully, according to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), something you can do to help those in your company who might be showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease is to conduct a safety assessment.
A safety assessment helps to identify whether or not the employee remains able to continue working in the position following the safety protocols or rapid response if needed. An example could be if the worker is employed as a pilot or a surgeon, where safety measures and responses are crucial to the position.
Be Aware of the Signs and symptoms
Additionally, according to the Workplace Strategies for Mental Health: Compliments of Canada Life, if an employee is showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms. Being able to identify these symptoms can help with reducing the likelihood of missing and misinterpreting the early signs of dementia that your employee may be experiencing.
Keep these questions in mind while assessing an employee for Alzheimer’s disease:
Are they showing a loss of initiative?
Have they been showing changes in their mood or behaviour?
Have they been showing changes in their personality?
Are they having problems with abstract thinking?
Has there been difficulty in performing familiar tasks?
Have they been showing poor judgment?
Have they been showing signs or disorientation in terms of time or place?
Have you noticed the employee misplacing things?
In addition to the assessment questions, if you find that one of your employees is showing any other signs of Alzheimer’s disease, make sure to not only document these changes in work ethic but also quickly assess the employee’s ability to make the right decisions and determine whether or not they can continue in the role. In relation to this, managers can also take the time to engage with employees if they notice an employee hasn’t been showing up to meetings or started making mistakes they never have before which might be out of the ordinary for that individual. In this situation, a manager can sit down with the individual with Alzheimer’s and try to express concern for them and explain the impact of the errors being made, without explicitly stating a diagnosis of them showing signs of early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Accommodation
Once you’ve noticed the change in your employee’s behaviour and the employee has disclosed information first about them having Alzheimer’s disease, the next step is considering reasonable accommodations for the employee in the workplace. If the employee discloses that they have Alzheimer’s disease, asking the employee for input on what accommodations would help them is a must. Some ideas you can offer them are changing their work schedule if their cognitive impairment is more pronounced in the afternoon, using software to keep the employee on track, or even providing assistive technology.
SHRM also says that employers who are considering whether they can provide reasonable accommodations to an employee with a disability should consider these questions:
How do the employee’s limitations affect job performance?
What specific tasks are problematic for the worker?
What accommodations are available to reduce or eliminate these problems?
Has the worker been asked about possible accommodations he or she believes may help?
Once accommodations are in place, how often should you meet with the employee to evaluate their effectiveness and determine whether additional support is needed?
Keep in mind that many employees can still work with Alzheimer’s disease with reasonable accommodation, however, if after the diagnosis you find that the employee is no longer able to perform their job or are experiencing severe symptoms, then, unfortunately, the employee may need to stop working immediately. You might have a short or long-term disability plan that might be available before considering exiting an employee.
If this is the situation and your company usually provides a severance package for involuntary termination, this package should be provided to the employee departing their job due to Alzheimer’s considering it can be seen as a disability. This is when it’s really important to speak with HR or your employment law team as there are legal risks and implications, and it is a very sensitive situation.
In Canada, also keep in mind there are human rights codes and other laws that govern accommodation and providing supports to your employees who may have mental health issues or other disabilities. In Ontario, you can check out this helpful guidance here.
what if your employee is the caregiver?
On the other hand, if you have an employee who is a caregiver for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, some ways that organizations can help are by adding flexibility in rules, policies, and procedures so the caregiver employee can continue to succeed in the workplace. Another thing the employer can do is also provide reasonable accommodations for the caregiver employee so they can manage both their work and caregiving responsibilities of their life.
In the past, Pauline Tardiff, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada has said:
“We educate ourselves on how to give CPR if somebody has a heart attack in the workplace. We educate ourselves around physical disabilities and accommodation — why wouldn’t we proactively get educated and educate ourselves broadly on dementia and what cognitive impairment might look like in our workplace?”
And she’s right.
We should always be striving to create a more accommodating workplace for all employees.
By creating a more accommodating workplace for your employees, they will feel more comfortable in your company as well as trust that the company will help them and their wellbeing along with creating opportunities for them to thrive.
This January, make sure that you’re prepared for Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, and prepared for the future, by implementing pro-active practices for assessing and responding to the possibility of Alzheimer’s in the workplace.
The Alzheimer’s Association Early Detection Alliance also offers a plethora of tools for educating employers on how to identify the signs of Alzheimer's disease. Check out their tools here.
Reach out to us at any time as we’re here to help you navigate your people, practices, and projects.