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.

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 has a mental illness. Many individuals believe that revealing criminal records to employers is less deleterious than revealing mental illness.

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 work setting, creating low morale among coworkers and higher turnover rates.

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 and other supports 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.