Download Our Free Toolkit for Creating an ERG for Mental Health

“Not acknowledging that millions are dealing with mental health conditions is costing an enormous amount both in terms of dollars and cents and, more importantly, people's lives."

Arianna Huffington
Mental Health at Work Mini-Conference, May 2018

"I personally would like to thank Mind Share Partners for all of your support of this ERG and community from the very beginning when we were unsure, driven, and quite a bit scared on launching something that would make us so vulnerable. You provided resources and insight that gave us direction, hope, and reminded us that what we were creating would matter to our peers. To which, you were right. I'm thankful for Mind Share Partners, what you stand for and all that you're creating in this new area of diversity, inclusion, and belonging."

"After the Mind Share Partners conference, we created our own Mental Health Fund, since our health insurance excludes it, and talked about it so our team knew we had their back and they'd be covered for emergency care for suicidal thoughts, etc.

It's a start. Stigma runs deep. It's good that [Mind Share Partners] is helping workplaces talk about it!"

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Just launched! Join our Mind Share Partners Institute certificate program.

Explore our resources to support workplace mental health during the coronavirus pandemic >

How to Create an ERG

for Mental Health

A free toolkit by Mind Share Partners

Are you currently leading or thinking about creating a mental health ERG at your organization?

Join our virtual community to connect with mental health ERG leaders from over 40+ companies.

Our free toolkit outlines the 7 essential steps to creating a mental health employee resource group (ERG).

Understanding how mental health ERGs are distinct from wellness and disability.
Evaluating how supportive your company culture is to mental health.
How to make the case for a mental health ERG to company leaders and employees.
Naming and setting parameters using careful language and framing to reduce stigma.
Complying with workplace regulations and how to collaborate with your human resources team.
Engaging all staff by using a wide variety of communication channels to spread awareness about the mental health ERG.
Planning a portfolio of meaningful activities from informing company policies to offering skill-building training for workplace mental health.

Mind Share Partners - Toolkit - Mental H

Get the toolkit

217 million days of work are lost each year to mental health conditions.

Demand for mental health support at work in the U.S. is only growing, and leading companies are increasingly forming mental health employee resource groups (ERGs) to meet this need.

Drawing from the scientific literature, insights from Mind Share Partners' forums and workshops, and interviews with companies such as Google, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon Media Group, and Zillow Group, we created a one-stop resource to equip you with the facts, questions, and considerations for creating an effective mental health ERG.

Read about the case for mental health ERGs

Every $1 invested in mentally healthy workplaces returns $2.30 in benefits to the company.

Research shows the most effective ways for reducing mental health-related stigma in the workplace include social contact, peer support, and education. A mental health ERG is an ideal vehicle to promote all three within an organization. When employees know others who have experienced a mental health condition, have a place to go for support and are armed with knowledge, they are set-up to feel psychologically safe at work—a key to high performance and employee engagement.

Mental health ERG success stories

Verizon Media Group launched a successful mental health ERG called “Minds of All Kinds”. This neurodiversity ERG provides a global network of support to employees in 26 cities around the world. The meetings connect people with their peers and are a safe space for employees to share their experiences, talk about pressing and prevalent issues, and offer support to one other.

For those in RetailMeNot’s ERG, RMN Rx, monthly meetings can feel “like a refuge” for participants.

At Johnson & Johnson, the Mental Health Diplomats group grew from 100 to almost 1,000 people in just over a year, becoming one of the fastest growing ERGs the company has ever had.

For more case studies and to learn how to implement an effective mental health ERG at your workplace, download the toolkit using the form above.

Are you currently leading or thinking about creating a mental health ERG at your organization?

Join our virtual community that connects mental health ERGs leaders and members from across 40+ companies (and growing) to connect, share best practices, and support each other in their ERG strategy.

Join our virtual community