Workers with mental illness are stayers

If you have a high turnover of staff, consider making your next hire a person with a mental illness. More than two thirds of employers who have employed a person with mental illness were happy with their performance and kept them on, according to the most recent National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, conducted in 2007.

A not-for-profit recruitment company, Wise Employement, recommends several ways to ensure the success of such a hire:

1. Tackle the stigma around mental illness.

2. Talk positively in the workplace about mental illness.

3. Focus on the practical things to help.

4. Develop solutions by listening.

5. Support flexibility in the workplace.

6. Lead by example.

7. Respond to employees’ issues.

8. Develop an action plan.