May is Mental Health Awareness Month, the perfect time for the launch of the USDOL’s Mental Health at Work Initiative. The program’s goals are to raise awareness and educate the public about the importance of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, and reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues. The campaign approaches the topic from a range of perspectives and and offers a wealth resources. Here are just a few:
Every year in the U.S., 1 in 5 adults experiences some form of mental illness, 1 in 20 experiences a serious mental illness, and 17 million experience a substance use disorder and mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Yet it continues to be a subject not spoken about enough, even though the physical, social and financial impacts are significant to both employee and employer – and even though the American Psychiatric Foundation estimates that 80% of employees who receive treatment for mental illness report improved capacity and satisfaction at work. So it’s in everyone’s best interest to make Mental Health Awareness Month more than a campaign; make it a conversation that continues on after the month of May is over.