{"id":65904,"date":"2023-05-18T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=65904"},"modified":"2023-05-18T09:51:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T16:51:52","slug":"salesforce-mental-health-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/salesforce-mental-health-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a Salesforce Engineer Fights for Mental Health Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was a day like so many others throughout the pandemic. Anxiety, worry and dread were heavy on her mind. But on this day, something shifted for Jodina Grande. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the first time in my career, an employer provided a safe space for people to talk about mental health, a topic that was previously taboo in the workplace,\u201d said Grande, a lead solutions engineer at Salesforce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was summer of 2021, and Salesforce had just hosted its first company-wide Mental Health Town Hall to address a rise in mental health concerns among its workforce. The goal of the town hall was to encourage employees to find community, learn about resources available to them, and hear from leadership and peers about their own mental health journeys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would also change the way Grande thought about mental health in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact of mental health<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, nearly half of Americans<\/a> reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders \u2014 a massive jump from the 11% that reported mental health symptoms prior to 2020. What\u2019s more, 150 million people<\/a> live in designated mental health professional shortage areas, making it difficult to find professional support. So it\u2019s no surprise that people started turning to each other in the workplace for support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having experienced mental health challenges first-hand, Grande deeply understood the importance of this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions for most of my life. I received support within my household because my immediate family was so open about mental health, but I learned very quickly that society wasn\u2019t as receptive to these challenges,\u201d said Grande. \u201cAt best, people were confused or dismissive, and at worst, people were mean or ostracizing. When I started my career, I made a conscious decision to lead with empathy in the workplace since you never know what struggles people are going through behind closed doors.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I started my career, I made a conscious decision to lead with empathy in the workplace since you never know what struggles people are going through behind closed doors.<\/p>\nJodina Grande, Lead Solutions Engineer<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Jodina Grande, Lead Solutions Engineer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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