Workplace Mental Wellness Resource Guide

Accommodation refers to any change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities. Accommodations may be required to comply with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Job Accommodation Network) 

Learn More: Office of Disability Employment Policy: Accommodations for Employees with Mental Health Conditions 

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in the United States, affecting 18% of American adults and as many as 33% of people at any point in their lifetime. Globally, anxiety is the sixth-leading cause of disability, with greater rates of disability occurring in females and in people aged 15 to 34 years. Anxiety is associated with a poorer quality of life in comparison to not having anxiety, including higher rates of divorce and unemployment. (Center for Workplace Mental Health) 

Learn More:

• Centers for Workplace Health: Anxiety Disorders: Why They Matter and What Employers Can Do 
• Champion Health: The HR Guide to Anxiety in the Workplace 
• Mental Health First Aid: How Employers Can Help Manage Anxiety in the Workplace 

Depression causes an estimated 200 million lost workdays each year at the cost of $17 billion to $44 billion to employers. Half of the employees with depression are untreated. (Center for Disease Control)

Learn More:

• National Institute of Mental Health: Depression – What You Need to Know
• Psychiatry Online: Addressing Depression in the Workplace 

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) provide a range of different services and resources. In general, EAPs provide assessment and services for addressing a range of personal problems and concerns that interfere with employees’ wellbeing and work performance. EAPs may help individuals with emotional and substance use issues, interpersonal relationships, legal problems, and financial difficulties. (Center for Workplace Mental Health)

Learn More:

• Mental Health America: Improving Workplace Mental Health through EAP Usage 
• Center for Workplace Mental Health: Employee Assistance Programs 
• Employee Benefit News: How EAPs are Turning to Technology to Support Employee Mental Health 
• Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration: Employee Assistance Programs 

 

Etiquette Studies show that better understanding of the experiences of people with mental health and substance use challenges can reduce or eliminate stigma and discrimination. Using person-first language is a great place to start, as it helps validate individuals’ experiences without reducing them to a diagnosis or condition. (Mental Health First Aid)

Learn More:

• Mental Health First Aid: Use Person-First Language to Reduce Stigma 
• National Center on Workforce & Disability: Basic Etiquette: People with Mental Illness 
• Forbes: Four Communications Considerations for Addressing Mental Health in the Workplace 
• Harvard Business Review: 8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health 
• Americans with Disabilities Act: Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace and the ADA 

Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many ways; there is no one “right” way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits. (Harvard Health)

Learn More:

• Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion: Neurodiversity in the Workplace 
• Neurodiversity Hub: Resources for Employers  

Peer to Peer (Peer Support) is a safe place for an employee who is facing challenges to speak with someone who has experienced a similar issue. The role of the peer supporter is to encourage the individual to reach out for effective help and promote hope, empowerment, and recovery. 

Learn More:

• Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration: Values of Peers 
• Society for Human Resource Management: Peer Support Strengthens Mental Health Offerings 
• Mental Health Peer Support for Young Adults in the Workplace 

Post Traumatic Stress A condition in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a physically and/or psychologically traumatic event. (Mayo Clinic)

Learn More:

• National Institute of Mental Health: Digital Shareables on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 
• Workplaces Respond to Domestic & Sexual Violence: 6 Supportive Ways to Address Trauma that Shows up at Work 
• Find Law: The ADA and Employees with PTSD 
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: National Center for PTSD 

Stigma Mental health conditions are common and treatable. So why don’t we talk about them as openly as physical conditions like diabetes or asthma? Because of stigma — negative stereotypes about mental illness that persist both in and out of the workplace. Though mental health conversations have increased in recent years, stigma remains a pervasive barrier in work environments. Many employers and employees report workplace stigma around mental health. (McKinsey & Company)

Learn More:

• Kaiser Permanente: Mental Health in the Workplace and the Cost of Staying Silent 
• Kaiser Permanente: Creating a Stigma-Free Workplace is Key to Tackling the Mental Health Crisis 
• Lyra Health: Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace (and How to Overcome it) 
• The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: Addressing Stigma 

Stress 40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful. 25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. 75% of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. 29% of workers felt quite a bit or extremely stressed at work. Nearly half of people diagnosed with anxiety are also diagnosed with depression. (PsychCentral,2021)

Learn More:

• Society for Human Resource Management: How Can Employers Help to Reduce Stress in the Workplace 
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Mental Health Disorders & Stress Affecting Working-Age Americans 

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a treatable mental health condition that affects a person’s brain and behavior, leading to their inability to control their use of substances like legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications. Symptoms can be moderate to severe, with addiction being the most severe form of SUD. (National Institute of Mental Health)

Learn More:

• Job Accommodation Network: Employees with Drug Addiction 
• Job Accommodation Network: Employees with Alcoholism  

Suicide Research has found that 46% of people who die by suicide had a known mental health condition. Several other factors may put a person at risk of suicide. (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

Learn More:

• Suicide Prevention Resource Center: Workplaces 
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center: A Manager’s Guide to Suicide Postvention in the Workplace – 10 Actions Steps for Dealing with the Aftermath of Suicide 
• Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention: Comprehensive Blueprint for Workplace Suicide Prevention