By Monet Craton, Contracts & Procurement Specialist

As we highlight Mental Health Awareness in May, I’m grateful to work for an organization that genuinely cares about my emotional wellbeing.

Research from the National Institute of Mental Health shows that mental illnesses are common in the United States, affecting tens of millions of people each year. In 2020, there was an estimated 52.9 million – or 21% of – adults in the United States with mental illness. It is also estimated 31.1% of U.S. adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives.

WorkForce Central leadership recognizes our mental health is as important as physical health. We are encouraged to take good care of ourselves and our families, pursue professional development, and relax and enjoy our time away from work. I appreciate the generous vacation and sick leave that makes this possible, augmented by bonus Mental Health Days throughout the year when we need extra time to recharge. We have also been encouraged to learn about mental health, with Mental Health First Aid training made available to us.

Our leadership has intentionally focused on creating a culture of caring at WorkForce Central. When we or family members are facing hardships and challenges, we receive compassion, understanding and grace from our coworkers, plus the ability to flex our work time when needed. “Fail forward” is one of our catch phrases. It means we talk about our mistakes or when we didn’t do something as well as we tried, and strive to use our failures to learn and improve. The magic is the empathy we receive from our coworkers, how we become closer, and how it gets easier and easier to be our authentic, wonderful and imperfect selves at work. I’ve never had a job where I feel so supported and cared about by my leadership and team.

WorkForce Central’s value of supporting mental health extends to the community members we serve. We fund Employee Assistance Program type services for workforce program participants to help with issues such as substance abuse, marital problems, parenting concerns, eldercare needs, legal concerns, work conflict, anxiety and stress, depression, financial concerns, gambling, communication, school problems, and eating disorders.