The Importance of a Mental Health-Friendly Work Culture
Approximately 1 in 5 Americans experiences a mental health condition each year. For many of these individuals—and many without mental health conditions—work is key to their health, contributing to a sense of purpose and well-being. This is why it's important that employers understand how to foster a mental health-friendly work culture.
The benefits extend beyond employees. Workplace practices supportive of people with disabilities, whether those disabilities are obvious or not, can deliver numerous bottom-line advantages, including greater productivity, reduced insurance costs and improved employee retention and morale.
A number of resources are available to help ensure that disability-related policies and practices in the workplace consider the needs of people with mental health conditions.
Accommodation Ideas for Mental Health Conditions – Guidance from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) on workplace supports for employees with mental health conditions.
DOL's Mental Health at Work Initiative – This initiative leverages the department's expertise, programs, policies, partnerships, and authority to advance mental health and wellness in the workforce.
EARN’s Workplace Mental Health Toolkit: Resources for Fostering a Mentally Healthy Workplace – This toolkit from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) provides background, tools, and resources that can help employers learn more about mental health issues and cultivate a welcoming and supportive work environment for employees who may be facing mental health issues. It also presents an easy-to-follow framework for fostering a mental health-friendly workplace, all built around the "4 As": Awareness, Accommodations, Assistance and Access.
Palm Card – This card illustrates the "4 As" from EARN's Workplace Mental Health Toolkit.
EARN Resources on Mental Health and Employment — Find additional EARN resources, including webinars and learning guides on policies, programs, and practices that support workplace mental health.
Maximizing Productivity: Accommodations for Employees with Mental Health Conditions – Fact sheet providing information on workplace accommodations for employees with mental health conditions.
Workplace Mental Health – This OSHA publication stresses that mental health is an important component of overall well-being and is equally as vital as physical health for all employees.
Workplace Stress: Make Work Better – Mental Health Matters – This OSHA webpage provides information about understanding workplace stress, guidance and tips for employers on managing stress, and training resources.
Warning Signs of Suicide – This resource from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides information and videos on the warning signs for youth and adults.
From Awareness to Action: Suicide Prevention in the Workplace – This EARN webinar offers practical strategies for implementing suicide prevention efforts in the workplace.
Recovery-Ready Workplace Resource Hub – This resource hub from DOL’s Employment and Training Administration outlines policies, practices, and resources to help reduce stigma and misunderstanding of substance use disorder and to create a supportive workplace for employees in recovery.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in the Workplace – This EARN resource highlights the impact of substance use disorder in the workplace for employers and workers.
DOL's Mental Health at Work Initiative: This initiative leverages the department's expertise, programs, policies, partnerships, and authority to advance mental health and wellness in the workforce. It offers tools and resources to help employees, unions, and worker organizations address worker mental health needs.
Accommodation Ideas for Mental Health Conditions — Guidance from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) on workplace supports for employees with mental health conditions.
Depression, PTSD, and Other Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace: Your Legal Rights: Information from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about legal rights in the workplace for workers with mental health conditions.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in the Workplace – This EARN resource highlights the impact of substance use disorder in the workplace for employers and workers.
Accommodation Ideas for Mental Health Conditions – Guidance from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) on workplace supports for employees with mental health conditions.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Enforcement Guidance on the ADA and Psychiatric Disabilities answers some of the most common questions about the ADA and persons with psychiatric disabilities.
Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth[SN1] ): An ODEP-funded collaborative that works to improve employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities, including mental health conditions, by helping states build capacity in their youth service delivery and workforce systems.
Adapting Supported Employment for Emerging Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions: An article from the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research regarding effective services that are needed to assist young people with serious mental health conditions to successfully transition to employment or education.
PSA Campaign - Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do?
Explore the Campaign for Disability Employment's "Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do?" campaign. Featuring a series of video public service announcements (PSAs), free posters and a Workplace Mental Health Guide (for mail order or download), the campaign's tools are designed to educate company leaders, managers, co-workers, and people with mental health conditions about the roles we all can play in promoting a mental health-friendly workplace.
The above list of resources is not meant to be exhaustive. Any listing of non-governmental resources should not be construed as an endorsement of the entities, their services, or products by the Office of Disability Employment Policy or the U.S. Department of Labor.