Mental health in the workplace is vital to everyone's bottom line. A healthy workplace is a productive workplace that provides a fertile environment for growth, creativity, productivity and teamwork. Both employers and employees who understand, embrace and "employ" good mental health will experience both the success and the satisfaction of a job well done.
Those seeking employment, as well as those already employed, face serious mental health stigma. Disclosure of a mental illness can be a career-ending act. According to the MacArthur Mental Health Module, 64% of those surveyed were unwilling to have a person with schizophrenia as a close coworker. Research posted by the International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation suggests that employers are less likely to hire persons who are labeled mentally ill. Many individuals believe that revealing a criminal record to an employer is less deleterious than revealing a mental illness.
Stigma in the workplace compromises productivity. As cited by Medical News Today, a study led by a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine psychiatrist highlights the toll anxiety and depressive disorders exact on workplace performance and profits, and points to employer-guaranteed specialized psychiatric care as both cost effective and humane. The study further shows that anxiety and/or depression complicate other medical conditions and seem to have a ripple effect in the work setting, creating low morale among coworkers and a higher turnover rate.
Securing and understanding meaningful employment is obviously beneficial to the individual with mental illness. The Center for Reintegration states that including these individuals in the workforce can be tremendously beneficial to the companies employing them. Individuals living with mental illness are among the most creative and imaginative members of our society. What would the world have been if leaders such as Lincoln and Churchill had been relegated to the ranks of the unemployed? Research demonstrates that today, available medications serve to enhance productivity. Harnessing the talent and capability of individuals living with mental illness holds enormous potential benefits for the enterprises employing these individuals.
Click here for a listing of Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Offices in New Jersey.
SSI/SSDI: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10095.html#part2
Team Management 2000, Incorporated
The Fresh Start WIPA Project
Englewood, NJ 07631
Phone: 201-567-1311
Serving the counties of - Bergen, Essex, and Passaic.
Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey
Trenton, NJ 08611
The New Jersey Work Incentives Support (NJWINS)
609-392-4900
Online: http://www.njwins.org
Northern Region
322 Rte. 46 West, Suite 290
Parsippany, NJ 07054
973-244-0850
Fax:: 973-244-9590
Central Region
2516 Route 35
Manasquan, NJ 08736
800-336-5843
TDD: 800-852-7899
Southern Region
Sentry Office Plaza
216 Haddon Avenue, Suite 329
Westmont, NJ 08108
856-858-5900
Fax:: 856-854-5171
Shore Area
Lion’s Head Office Park
35 Beaverson Blvd., Building 11
Brick, NJ 08723
732-262-8020
Fax:: 732-262-7805
Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey, Incorporated
Advancing Opportunities
The New Jersey Work Incentives Support (NJWINS)
Address: 1005 Whitehead Road Extension, Suite 1
Ewing, NJ 08638
Toll Free: 888-322-1918
TTY: 609-882-0620
E-Mail: njwins@cpofnj.org
Online: http://www.njwins.org
Serving the counties of - Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Salem, Sussex, and Warren.
