HOW TO 'COME OUT' AS AN EMPLOYEE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
By Jenn Renoe, Associate Media Director, Publicis Health Media
Excerpted from Ad Age:
In March, I acted as organizer and host for SXSW’s second annual Mental Health Meet-Up. To my surprise—and delight—everyone in attendance expressed that they’d love to just tell their stories. It was incredibly powerful to witness, especially because some talked about things they’d never talked about with anyone—not a therapist, not friends, not family members. There were real tears, hugs, love and care.
Experiences like this—that break down barriers, destroy inhibitions and ultimately build us up—are exactly what I hope to create with my work in health-care media. For me, it isn’t just about helping to promote a drug, product or experience. It’s about helping people feel empowered about the care that they have and helping them know that they have the power to take control of their own health journey.
In order to accomplish that mission, it’s vital that I feel personally empowered in my workplace. I loved my previous company, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that my co-workers were looking through me to the person I used to be. I needed a fresh start.
My current employer has a wonderful LGBT affinity group and garnered a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. But when we moved into a new office last month, which required us to share common space and restrooms with three other agencies, I constantly worried that someone who didn’t know me and my story would make a snide remark in the bathroom or, worse, try to report me as being a man in the women’s bathroom.
Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened. I’ve since grown more comfortable in our new space, but that initial anxiety highlights the uphill battle that a transgender person faces in a workplace that wasn’t built for us.
Read the full article on Ad Age.
About Publicis Health Media
Publicis Health Media (PHM) is the leading health media agency in the US. We are designed for—and dedicated to—delivering best-in-class solutions that connect people with meaningful health and wellness solutions every day. Guided by our genuine passion for health and wellness, our work across the entire media ecosystem helps real patients navigate the most pivotal moments of their healthcare journeys. We have the heart of a startup and continue to embrace our entrepreneurial spirit. We embrace our creator culture. We harness the trends driving shifts in the way people experience health and capitalize on our marketplace position to drive opportunities for our clients.
PHM sits at the intersection of Publicis Health, the largest Healthcare Communications network in the world, and Publicis Media, the number one buyer of media in the US. This gives us access to talent, technology and data to help us deliver the market-leading solutions that give our clients true competitive advantage.
To learn more about Publicis Health Media, visit its website and for the latest news and updates, follow PHM on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
