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Why Mental Health Health Recognition and Wellness Matters At Work
Although the stigma on mental health issues is not a great as it used to be, the corporate workplace remains a place where most employees are afraid to go public with fairly common disorders, such as Generalized Anxiety and Panic Disorder (GAD).
Workplace culture needs to adapt to the fact that their employees’ mental health is just as vital as their physical health, and provide accommodations and empathy so that they don’t fear being upfront when mental health issues affect their work.
Personally, I think it would be helpful for Human Resources to hold mandatory training not only by mental health professionals, but by speakers who can offer their own experience, advice and coping tools to help them manage their condition. There should be signs in the building promoting mental health as an important aspect of the wellness movement; it sends a company-wide message that assures employees who suffer such issues to feel their workplace is also a safe place, thereby decreasing absenteeism.
Sensitivity training would bring awareness to the bullying that employees who suffer from anxiety and related disorders experience from some co-workers and even managers. Bullying or even insensitivity is another reason people stay silent about their chronic or episodic GAD.
