Author: Daniel Golden

You can’t expect a disabled actor to break down barriers if they aren’t hired for roles, or if film sets remain inaccessible.

Season three of the popular comedy Ted Lasso airs Wednesday, and given all that show has done to destigmatize mental health, I’m sure it’s no coincidence the finale is in May, the last day of Mental Health Awareness Month.

As a veteran actor, I am proud of what the show has done to elevate this important issue as it explores the title character’s panic attacks after years of bottling up trauma. But when it comes to on-screen representation, we are still so far behind.

I’m not just a veteran actor, who you may have seen on Seinfeld, along with more than 150 other TV shows and 30-plus films. I’m an actor with disability, which remains woefully underrepresented on screen.

A recent study of content from one streaming service found that disability remained the biggest representational hole, and fewer films included disabled characters in 2021 than in 2018.

When it comes to access and opportunity, we still often place the burden on the performers (people) with disabilities, and not on the system, access, laws, or the employers. And you can’t expect a disabled actor to break down barriers if they aren’t hired, or if film sets remain inaccessible.

Throughout my career, working with pioneers like disabled actor Robert David Hall (from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), organizations such as the Ruderman Family Foundation and ADA Lead On (with Tari Hartman Squire), and festivals such as the ReelAbilities Film Festival, I have tried to change this — to eliminate prejudices, erase tropes, change the rhetoric, and ask that policies and creators include artists with disability.

Expanding Hollywood’s representation of disability isn’t just a moral imperative, it’s a business imperative. Roughly one out of four people in the U.S. lives with a disability; there is an immediate, positive response from audiences when we get this right. And negative consequences when we don’t.

It’s been more than 30 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I can count on one hand the number of years our industry has attempted any serious engagement with the disability community.

Meanwhile, progress has been made in other areas — traditionally marginalized groups such as women, people of color, and LGBTQ people have been gaining equal opportunity and access to on-screen roles and the writers’ room, as well as producing and directing jobs.

To make the same changes with disability, the industry has to begin engaging with people and trying to eliminate fears and stigma.

Ted Lasso is one recent example, focusing attention on disabilities related to mental health. In another positive step, the popular IMDb database of actors has created a “self-identify” section, which lets all actors and craftspeople indicate if they have a disability. This will further help to reduce stigma by showing just how many of us are working with a disability.

Major changes won’t happen until studio executives make a true commitment to hiring more people with disabilities for their productions.

Not long ago, I met with my old costar, the wonderful actor Bryan Cranston, to discuss some of the backlash he received from the disabled community for his turn on The Upside, in which he played a quadriplegic man.

I said that our community — actors with disabilities — cannot achieve his level of success until we increase the opportunity and have equal access. So I’ve been asking him and other people in power to make a change to commit to casting three disabled actors in speaking roles each time they take a role from a disabled actor. Three to one. I call it the Woodburn Ratio. This would have the added benefit of forcing a production to make sets accessible.

These are hard changes and may come with hard conversations. I tell studio executives that they shouldn’t worry about asking the wrong questions of disabled actors. Just ask them. Especially the most important question: “What do you need from us so that you can do your best work?”

Imagine if every leader asked that question in workplaces all across the country, and not just in Hollywood.

Danny Woodburn, a graduate of Abington High School and Temple University’s School of Communications and Theater, is perhaps best known for his role as Kramer’s friend Mickey Abbott on “Seinfeld.” He is a consultant to the National Organization on Disability.

 

Originally posted at https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/ted-lasso-finale-mental-health-disability-hollywood-20230531.html

Chris Collingwood | May 24th, 2023

Addressing mental health in the workplace can save a company money through productivity and retention of trained employees.

While there are no clear measurements, presenteeism can impact the bottom line, said Demetrios Marousis, director of behavior health, Highmark Health.

“Many employees are suffering, not only themselves but with family members,” he said. “They show up for work, but they are not present and that, along with time away from the job, are important variables for employers.”

Karen Young, founder and president, HR Solutions, agreed.

“If you are not operating at 100 %, you aren’t producing 100%,” she said.

A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) said 15% of working-age adults were estimated to have a mental health disorder in 2019. Carol Glazer, president of the National Organization on Disability, said, “We know that has at least doubled since COVID.

According to a study by Health Canal LLC, untreated workplace mental illness costs the U.S. $3.7 trillion each year. Pennsylvania ranks fifth in the nation with $149 billion.

The report says too, the annual spending on mental health treatment in the United States is $43 billion, which is only 1.1% of the cost of unmet workplace mental health needs.

According to data supplied by the American Psychiatric Association, employees with unresolved depression experience a 35% reduction in productivity, contributing to a loss to the U.S. economy of $210.5 billion a year in absenteeism, reduced productivity, and medical costs.

And Glazer said 62% of missed workdays are attributed to mental health.

To improve workforce productivity, Young said the overall culture of the company must be one of caring.

“Supervisors, managers and leaders should know their workforce,” she said. “That way, they can ask how things are going when they see a change in behavior or a change in productivity or attitude.”

Young said trained leadership can open a dialogue to see what is going on with the employee but must be careful so as not to move into disability accommodation discussions.

“Just being on track with where they are can open the door to find out if the issue is work related or lifestyle related,” Young said. “And you have to be empathetic.”

Glazer agreed.

“There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of empathy among top management,” she said. “The platinum rule is to do unto others as they want you to do.”

Glazer said employers have to get past the stigma to help employees get through their issues. They can offer things like flexible hours or make sure they are taking their paid time off to tend to their needs.

“Let them know you think they are number one,” she said.

“Employees showing up without being present and time away from the job are important variables for employers,” Marousis said. “Employees will put off treatment, saying the issue will pass and don’t identify that it is treatable. When they do seek care, often they are challenged as to where to find it.”

Marousis said there is still a stigma attached to mental health issues which makes finding care difficult. He said people talk about the care they receive for medical issues and will recommend a doctor, while people being treated for mental health often keep it to themselves.

“Innovative employers promote providers and ease of access,” he said. “That makes it less of a stigma.”

Employers need to look at what it costs to recruit, train and retain employees and offer care versus the cost of turnover when an employee is unable to perform the job, Marousis said.

“Companies should have Employee Assistance Programs. They are so inexpensive,” Young said. “Human resource personnel are trained in mediation and listening, but when a serious issue arises, the employee needs a professional.”

Crisis counseling, she said, can help get to the issue quickly, usually in three to five sessions.

Marousis agreed, citing a program called Mental Health First Aid which trains people how to create opportunities to talk, reduces stigma and judgement, and engages the employee more quickly.

He also cited virtual providers who can offer employees private consultations at their convenience which makes getting care easier.

Employers, Marousis said, can help promote access to treatment by putting out information on what mental health disorders look like and provide access to providers that can help.

“We’re seeing more and more employers doing this through email campaigns and posters in the workplace which is translating to more people seeking help,” he said.

The increased interest is cost driven. Marousis said the total cost of care if mental health is not treated is three times what it would be. He cited an example of someone with diabetes and depression. If someone is depressed, he is more likely not managing his diabetes and that increases the cost of care.

“Leaders are responsible for productivity, but they have to be nice to their employees,” Young said. “That doesn’t mean they have to accept emotions, but they need to be empathic. That way, the employee is more likely to open up.”

If the employee is having minor issues that can be solved short-term with lightening the workload or taking a day off, the supervisor should work with that, she said. “It demonstrates that you hear them and care.”

However, Young said supervisors should get human resources involved when more significant issues arise because, as managers, they don’t want to get involved in medical issues.

“Human resources can discuss corporate programs that are available and outline benefits,” she said. “And they can look at formal accommodations if it is a long-term issue.”

Employers are starting to recognize the importance of treating mental health issues, Marousis said. When someone is not performing, access to care gives them permission to get treatment.

“There is still an expectation of productivity,” he said. “Letting employees know if they are not okay, gives the company the chance to help them get treatment.”

 

This article was originally published at https://www.cpbj.com/mental-health-issues-affect-corporate-bottom-line/.