Woman’s E-Mail Sparks Conversation On Workplace Mental Health

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A Michigan woman’s story of using her sick days to cope with anxiety recently went viral after an exchange with the company’s chief executive, and one expert is calling it a model for how to talk about mental health in the workplace. Kevin Fischer, with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, tells us the conversation is moving in the right direction, and it could shift the societal understanding of mental illness.

“It’s not going to come from the government, it’s not going to come unfortunately even from your primary-care physician. So I’m happy that we’re moving forward. We’re just not moving forward fast enough.”

Ann Arbor resident Madalyn Parker emailed her team she’d be taking time off work to focus on her mental health. The image started circulating around the internet with more than 15,000 retweets. Fischer says more employers should be as understanding as Parker’s.