How to Break Down Mental Illness Stigma and Build Supportive Work Environments

Allowing people to talk freely about mental health or daily stress is an excellent way for people to release negativity and feel seen. Oftentimes, people aren’t looking for advice on how to help their mental state; they are usually taking those steps themselves. Instead, they just want to be transparent and feel as though their illness or struggle is being seen and understood, without having it be held over their head. Allowing people to talk to management, each other, or general leadership about mental health creates a sense of camaraderie and eliminates the fear that there will be negative consequences for an unseen struggle.

As leaders, it is important to publicly state that you take mental health seriously. A big part of the mental health stigma is that it’s not justified or real, mainly because the effects are generally invisible. Making an organization-wide statement that you care about your employees’ mental health, and do not condemn, but rather support, the use of mental health care (therapy appointments, medication use, etc.) goes a long way. In all honesty, it is a radical and extremely effective step to take in increasing employee satisfaction, and in return increasing the organization’s value. After all, happy employees are more engaged and productive.

In this era of COVID-19, it is important for people to feel like they are still in the loop and belong. Remote working policies can be isolating, which can trigger depressive episodes or just cause general stress. Simply reinforcing “you are not alone” in these statements provides reassurance and comfort.

Including Mental Health Days in your paid time off policy provides space and inclusion for employees who become overwhelmed by circumstances and their condition. Remember, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires reasonable accommodations for people with mental and physical disabilities. Anxiety and depression are incurable and count as disabilities. This isn’t just a generous and inclusive policy, it’s a reasonable accommodation for anyone with a reported mental health concern. Employees need time to recharge. Allowing for Mental Health Days, or changing sick leave policies to not need a doctor’s note, gives your employees that crucial time to regroup and come back to work refreshed. And like many policies created for one group, this policy benefits everyone. Most employees will only use this time off when it is needed. Productivity drops up to 80% when people are stressed, anxious, or distracted.

We’re finding ourselves in a time that is very anxiety inducing. Even before the pandemic, phrases such as “I’m anxious” or “I’m depressed” were used frequently without regard to their genuine implication. A way to regain the legitimacy of such claims is to believe people when they say they are experiencing a symptom of a mental illness or struggling. By validating the experience, you are showing how serious these terms are, and will quickly weed out people who may just be stressed vs. people who are experiencing severe anxiety. Along the same lines, you are showing people who are actually experiencing these symptoms that they are serious, and you care about their mental health by offering to listen, provide a day off, or be understanding of their need to miss an hour from work to go to therapy or a psychiatrist. Normalizing these terms helps break down the stigma, while creating an inclusive environment.

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