WISCONSIN UNITED
for MENTAL HEALTH

What's the situation?
The workforce includes many individuals with psychiatric disabilities whose disabilities may be stigmatized and misunderstood. Despite the contributions of numerous people who have had, or have, mental illnesses, employers and the public may discourage people who have a mental illness from fulfilling their career goals.

In fact, due in part to stigma and discrimination, the unemployment rate among people with serious and persistent mental illnesses is 90% -- far higher than the 50% unemployment rate among individuals with physical or sensorial disabilities. In other words, only 10% of individuals with persistent mental illnesses who want to work, and are able, are working.

The employment of people with mental illnesses helps employers fill job openings and contributes to society through the return of paid taxes and Social Security and reduced use of government health and disability benefits. Employers who have hired individuals with mental illnesses report that their attendance and punctuality exceed the norm, and that their motivation, work quality, and job tenure is as good as or better than that of other employees. (reference)

To find more resources on the employment of those with mental illnesses, visit the ADS Center Web site, which is also the source of the above information.

What can employers do?
Companies that proactively address overall mental health in the workplace can realize significant benefits. Mental health friendly practices can bring greater productivity, reduced insurance costs, and improved retention. They can, in fact, affect the entire culture of the company.

Available to the business community are a booklet for top executives and a complementary toolkit for human resource personnel and managers. These materials help get the message to employers that mental health is a part of every workplace and help employers spread the message to their workforce.

To learn more about how you can fight stigma in the workplace, visit the EBI's Web site for more information and materials.


Additional Resources:

Create a Stimga-Free Workplace - 2 page basic .pdf brochure from Mental Health America about how to start addressing stigma in the workplace

Mental Health Works - This issue of "Mental Health Works," a quarterly newsletter by the Office of Healthcare Systems and Financing of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychiatric Foundation, focuses on employees with a psychiatric disability.

Texans Working Together - a website dedicated to the elimination of the stigma of mental illness in every Texas workplace