Mass. campaign launches to end workplace mental illness stigma

The Massachusetts branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has launched a statewide campaign, CEOs Against Stigma, to address workplace stigma and create more productive workplaces.

The campaign, funded through a grant by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, seeks to change misconceptions about mental illness, which includes depression and substance use, so that employees can speak freely and seek support.

CEOs are asked to sign a pledge that “encourages communication and understanding to foster a stigma-free workplace.” At a kickoff event Friday, CEOs who had already signed on to the program were set to speak. They included Executive Vice Chancellor of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division Joyce Murphy, Beacon Health Options CEO Timothy Murphy and Massport CEO Thomas Glynn.

NAMI Mass chose to focus this anti-stigma campaign on the workplace in part based on results from a 2014 statewide survey of 800 Massachusetts voters, which NAMI commissioned to gauge attitudes on mental illness. The results show that while 92 percent of people would advise people with mental illness to tell their families about it, and 76 percent would advise telling their friends, only 27 percent would advise telling their co-workers.

“Every day, we see how stigma interferes with a person’s willingness to get treatment,” said NAMI Mass Executive Director Laurie Martinelli. “The research shows that in the workplace stigma not only discourages people from getting help, it also has a huge impact on productivity.”