Frequently Asked Questions​

Why was One Mind at Work started?

Most adults today spend the majority of their waking hours at work and especially in the U.S., the workplace functions as a key access point for many to the healthcare system. In 2016, encouraged by the momentum behind brain health being generated by One Mind, Garen Staglin, and Patrick Kennedy, former U.S. Representative and longtime mental health advocate, identified the workplace as a critical area to create tangible change in the way mental health is perceived and treated. Together, they founded One Mind at Work, with the ambition to form a coalition of employers to establish and implement a “gold standard” of workplace mental health (now known as the Charter to Transform Mental Health).

How does One Mind at Work work with members?

We tailor our approach to what suits you best. We can focus internally on advising teams or connecting to experts to help expand or improve workplace mental health support and services.  We work externally to create platforms for companies to share activities and build up the reputation of the organization as one that is invested and a leader employee mental health.   We do not duplicate your EAP programs but rather help create an environment and culture that celebrates neurodiversity and eliminates stigma and discrimination.

What are some examples of One Mind at Work's approach to helping employers change the way they understand, perceive, and treat mental health in the workplace?

There is not a “one size fits all” solution, and our membership spans many sectors, sizes, geographies, and employee demographics. Some avenues of internal support include:
  • Training and assessment tools: One Mind at Work members can perform a free assessment of their organization through our partnership with Total Brain, a mental health and fitness platform (Emotion, Feeling, Cognition and Self-Control) that also includes an unlimited license to access self-care tools for all employees who take the anonymous assessment. Members can also gauge their organization’s strengths and gaps across four key areas of workplace mental health (leadership, access, culture, and awareness) through our publicly-available Workplace Mental Health Assessment developed in collaboration with Mental Health America and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation. Finally, we are working with the Society for Human Resource Management to develop easily accessible training for managers, to be unveiled later in 2020.
  • Private Slack workspace: Easy access to the most relevant news reports and resources as they emerge through a private, members-only Slack workspace. Our access to experts and our broad and deep partnerships in the mental health space allows us to provide members with a fast exchange of information which, in a constantly shifting landscape, is essential to help leaders evaluate and communicate priorities as they relate to employee wellbeing. The Slack workspace also creates a unique, seamless channel for member-to-member communication, allowing our members to talk to each other about best practices and lessons learned.
  • Regular check-in: We are available to you at a frequency that makes sense (typically quarterly) to discuss plans for growing or changing mental health support. We often review programs implemented, talk through approaches, address questions, and identify helpful connections to experts. This regular engagement usually includes our primary point of contact at the member organization, as well as colleagues that can help form connection points and buy-in.
  • Live or recorded “fireside chats”: Many of our member organizations have invited Garen Staglin, co-founder of One Mind at Work, to speak onsite about workplace mental health and have found that these “fireside chats” inspire employees across teams and levels of leadership to start conversations around mental health. Usually, a senior leader will host the conversation with Garen, helping to set an example of an open dialogue about mental health – a very important element of any workplace mental health strategy.
  • Member Portal: Resources, reports, memos, and template communications at your fingertips through our member portal to assist you in working with both external and internal audiences.

What are some examples of the external platforms that One Mind at Work can offer?

The One Mind at Work network is extensive, diverse, and high-caliber and provides several external opportunities for members:
  • High-profile network: We have brought members into opportunities including the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Lake Nona Impact Forum, conferences with the Business Group on Health and Mental Health America, and a slew of other high-caliber, often exclusive events. Speaking at high-caliber events such as these is an extremely valuable demonstration of thought leadership on the topic of workplace mental health.
  • Annual Global Forum: Every September we host our flagship event, the One Mind at Work Global Forum. The 4th annual Global Forum is scheduled to take place on September 9-10th, 2020 in Napa Valley, California. Themes will include evidence-based interventions, cultivating connections in the workplace, mental health as a component of ESG criteria, the global response to workplace mental health, and impacts of Covid-19. *Note that we are monitoring the COVID-19 situation and, though coordinating the event as planned, will transition to a “virtual” event as required.
  • Media exposure: While not exclusive to members, on a bi-weekly basis we areposting to Forbes on select topics related to workplace mental health. Brandon Staglin, One Mind’s president, is expanding the topics covered in his BrainWaves Facebook Live broadcast to explore workforce themes and video clips are being made available. We work alongside PR and social media experts that are equipped with the tools and skills to elevate our members’ victories in workplace mental health if such promotion is appropriate for the organization.
  • Research opportunities: We execute a robust research agenda throughout the year. Past offerings include ourCHRO Insights Series, Depression calculator (based on a paper articulating the business case for workplace mental health), and publications on topics like supporting neurodiversity in the workforce.  We seek to develop research that closely aligns with the topics that are most important to our members and welcome opportunities to collaborate and cobrand reports with our partners, members, and the broader mental health community.

Does the CEO need to sign the Charter?

To achieve lasting and important change in any organization, senior leadership must be involved and committed to the success of the effort.  CEOs from some of the largest companies in the world have signed the Charter, and in other cases, another executive, often the CHRO or the benefits leader in the organization, can be the correct one to champion workplace mental health.

Is One Mind at Work an international organization?

Yes. Our members have global footprints, we have partnerships across countries and most continents, and are the preferred partner of the World Economic Forum through which we are working to catalyze a global response to improve mental health in the workplace.  Our global purview gives us insight into international workplace trends, an important advantage to our multinational members.

Has One Mind at Work adapted or expanded its support and services in response to COVID-19?

We received and reacted to a significant increase in questions and requests for resources in March 2020 as lockdowns began across the U.S. and a huge portion of the workforce became remote. We quickly assembled a “toolkit” of COVID-19 resources that can be downloaded and used by members and are already working on how to support employers in the next phase, as many employees start thinking about returning to work and coping with the “new normal.” We also launched the Total Brain pilot to provide all of our members with a low-barrier way to quickly take action to support their employees’ mental health, whether or not they have other programs in place. The launch of the members-only Slack channel with the latest guidance on Covid-19 support and the specially curated Brain Waves videos are important new resources created. We will also be integrating the challenges of the current environment into each session of the 2020 One Mind at Work Global Forum, where there will be cross-cutting discussions about the impact of COVID-19 in general, and in particular the implications for workplace mental health. The Global Forum this year will give attendees the unique opportunity to debrief and compare experiences, challenges, and paths forward. 

How does One Mind at Work connect to One Mind?

One Mind, launched in 1995, is one of the world’s leading mental health non-profits and advocacy organizations for people impacted by brain illness and injury. One Mind focuses on accelerating scientific breakthroughs in brain health, bringing those discoveries to patients in the form of treatments, and transforming societal culture to end stigma and discrimination. The scientific insights, research, and advocacy that are propelled by One Mind informs the One Mind at Work priorities and strategies, while insights from employers shed light on the unmet needs that brain researchers are seeking to fill. Both One Mind and One Mind at Work leverage relationships with other advocacy and research organizations.