Bringing Mental Wellness Out of the Shadows

The head of NAMI Palm Beach County explores the changing relationship between mental health and the workplace

As the executive director of the nonprofit National Alliance on Mental Illness Palm Beach County (NAMI PBC), Marsha Martino is one of the region’s leading advocates of mental-health support and education. The goal of NAMI, a nationwide organization launched in 1979, is to empower individuals living with mental illness and their families, and to eliminate the associated stigmas.

With the average employed American spending nearly 39 hours per week at work, workplace environments are not immune from manifestations of individuals’ mental-health challenges. As Martino explains, this can hold true even if the workplace is one’s home office. In this exclusive interview, Martino shares her insights on how recent events have affected mental wellness in America, and how the business world has responded to the changes.

On how the pandemic has changed the way we think about the relationship between mental health and work:

An awareness has grown about mental health and wellbeing vs. “mental illness,” which has often been viewed as someone else's issue, not something that individuals experience themselves or in their family. Given that one in five individuals experience a mental illness in a given year, we know this is not true. However, historically the stigma associated with mental illness has discouraged individuals and families from seeking help and sharing experiences. When the pandemic placed many community members into similar difficult situations, it normalized the sharing of their experiences such as anxiety, isolation and depression.

On the mental-health differences between in-person and remote work:

I think that the jury is still out on the impact of working at home vs. an office. Initially, the positive aspects of spending time with family, reduced commute and the maintaining of productivity were touted. I believe there is a growing concern about the isolation faced by individuals who, because they work from home, may now have a more limited exposure to opportunities to develop supportive relationships in their lives. Supportive relationships are essential to mental well-being. They are also a protective factor in the development of mental health conditions and the ability to cope with mental health challenges when they are encountered.

On the mental-health conditions that manifest most often in workplace settings:

In most work settings, social interaction is a required skill set. Poor communication skills and difficulty with social interactions have cost many workers their jobs. There are many illnesses or conditions that may impact an employee's ability to interact productively with co-workers. Mental illnesses including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder can impact an individual's communication skills, particularly when that individual is symptomatic. However, given appropriate treatment and support, many such individuals with these diagnoses are never even identified by their colleagues, as they successfully communicate with co-workers and accomplish their tasks with no accommodations.

On employers’ increased awareness of their employees’ mental-health challenges:

On a positive social media note, there is a growing awareness of the challenges faced by individuals, families and particularly children because of the pandemic. There has also been an increased level of flexibility offered in some work settings. The changes to the work environment during the pandemic proved that individuals working from home could remain productive. Given this “proof,” some employers have been more willing to have “office days,” flexible office hours, meetings via virtual platforms, and other options that were less available in the past. This has given the employee who may be struggling with mental health symptoms more flexibility in their lives as well.

On the growing acceptance of certain mental health conditions:

There is a reduction in shame and stigma associated with certain conditions such as depression and anxiety. These conditions are more likely to be seen as concerns that could “happen to anyone,” as was observed during the pandemic. However, I believe that the stigma associated with serious mental illness, particularly schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, continues.

For resources or to learn more about NAMI PBC, visit www.namipbc.org.