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The Employers Council HR Planning Calendar reminds us that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than one in five American adults live with a mental illness. That’s more than 50 million people. As many of those millions are in the workforce, employee mental health is a business imperative for employers to face.  

Employees’ mental health issues, and those of their significant others, exact a high cost on the workplace due to lost productivity, absenteeism, turnover, etc., in addition to direct health care costs. Employers are often uncertain how to manage these issues out of fear of violating privacy laws and personal discomfort with the issue, among other concerns. Yet employers who actively promote workplace mental wellness will likely enjoy better outcomes by destigmatizing mental health needs.  

To help members with this effort, our Employers Guide to Managing Workplace Mental Health offers guidance to appropriately manage employees and workplace mental health issues.