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| Joyce A. Murphy was among the first 25 CEOs in Massachusetts to sign the NAMI pledge. |
Employers have not been as comfortable addressing mental illnesses in the workplace as physical illnesses, Joyce A. Murphy, MPA, executive vice chancellor of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division, told the Worcester Business Journal.
“It’s a huge concern and I think historically that businesses . . . have not been as comfortable dealing with mental illnesses as they have with physical illness,” Murphy said in the July 8 article, which focused on the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Massachusetts campaign to end the stigma of mental illness in the workplace. Murphy was one of the first 25 CEOs in Massachusetts to sign the NAMI pledge and spoke at a June 26 press conference to launch the campaign.
Employers know mental illnesses such as depression can affect productivity, Murphy told the Worcester Business Journal, and she believes business leaders in the Greater Worcester area will respond well to NAMI Massachusetts’ CEOs Against Stigma campaign.
Results of a NAMI survey indicate that depression is the most costly illness for businesses among all physical and mental illnesses, according to Worcester Business Journal. Mental illness can cause absenteeism or “presenteeism,” when employees are at work, but aren’t productive.
Mental illness affects one in five adults and is the leading cause of workplace disability. CEOs Against Stigma recognizes that top-down leadership is required to change misconceptions about mental illness so that employees have the opportunity to speak freely about and seek support for conditions affecting them and their immediate families.
Related link on UMassMedNow
Joyce Murphy signs NAMI Mass ‘CEOs Against Stigma’ pledge
