Why Mental Health Is the Next Frontier of Diversity & Inclusion

90% of employees are impacted by mental health, whether themselves or others close to them. It impacts every team and every conference call. Companies that want to create connected, inclusive workplaces need to address mental health head-on. How can leaders create a stigma-free culture that is supportive of mental health, while also complying with regulations? In this session, we explain why mental health is the next frontier of diversity and inclusion, address commonly held misconceptions about mental health at work, discuss real case studies from leading companies paving the way for mental health within their D&I strategies, and learn practical applications for including mental health initiatives within a 2019 D&I strategy.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand that mental health under diversity and inclusion in the workplace is more than access to benefits—it is about creating a culture of inclusion for the 80% of people who will experience a mental health challenge in their lifetime. It is not enough to provide access to mental health benefits or stress-reducing apps. Unless mental health is named and normalized, employees will feel shame and loneliness and will not seek treatment.
• Learn practical solutions for navigating mental health in the workplace.
• Learn communication tools that open the door to safe conversation without violating privacy laws.
• Learn how to get creative about accommodations and addressing problems before sending people on long-term leave.
• Learn the benefits of why and how to create a mental health-specific employee resource group (ERG).
• Learn from case studies to spark dialogue about the challenges and opportunities of mental health at work, plus tactical moves HR leaders make to change the stigma, as supported by academic research in stigma-reduction and culture change.