Mental Health Advocacy in Working Spaces: Latest guest, Kiana Fitzgerald

This past month, we had the privilege of speaking with Kiana Fitzgerald. Writer, DJ, cultural critic, book author, social media personality, and mental health advocate, Kiana brought to our attention a fault in popular discourses: the lack of conversation surrounding mental health in working spaces.

By working spaces, we really mean industry settings. Whether you're employed at a traditional 9-5, inhabit a more creative, flexible space, or do blue-collar contracting work, talking about mental health transparently should never be taboo or frowned upon. Despite the rather modern push for inclusive, accepting workplaces, it's not uncommon for coworkers to start squirming as soon as they hear the phrase "therapy," or "mental health episode" in passing, and such terms come with a wide array of outdated or misinformed connotations.

While there has been a notable increase in pressure on employers to create safe, supportive spaces for employees and their mental wellbeing, 58% of employees surveyed by Psychology Today in 2025 reported feeling as though their companies' efforts were performative. Additionally, only 23% of managers felt equipped to handle and facilitate conversations around mental health (Watrous). Evidently, destigmatization and social pressure is not sufficient on its own to provide adequate support to struggling workers.

It's paramount that employers or supervisors approach conversations around mental health with the utmost transparency and understanding, but this cannot happen without proper training. The importance of disclosure on both the part of the employee and employer cannot be understated: disclosure leads to workplace accommodations, intervention before the point of crisis or burnout, and it makes for a well-informed support system when necessary (Admin). However, disclosure "may also cause relationship strain with co-workers who stigmatize mental illness," and professionals who have been "diagnosed with bipolar, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and schizophrenia find that they frequently encounter stereotypes on the part of their co-workers such as the belief that mental illness renders people incapable of anything other than the most menial tasks on the job" (Elliott and Reuter).

Those diagnosed with such aforementioned chronic disorders also have higher rates of job insecurity and unemployment as a result.

So how can we culturally begin to deconstruct these harmful taboos in the work environment? According to the American Psychological Association, this can be done not only by continuing conversations about mental health, but also by investing time and money into employee mental wellbeing. This can come through mental health seminars and required training sessions, increased pay, limited communication outside of set work hours, and encouraging workplace leaders to simply listen to workers. While it's true that this costs businesses resources upfront, the reward is worth the risk: "A 2018 analysis found the estimated cost of job stress nationwide may be as much as $187 billion, with 70% to 90% of those losses resulting from declines in productivity—and the pandemic has only worsened the situation" (Novotney).

To be a professional is to undergo the immense pressures that come with being under management and public opinion. To be a human is to mentally struggle. Finding balance is a cultural shift we are still in the midst of making, and successfully doing so will require these conversations, uncomfortable though they may be.

Take a look at our most recent episode where Kiana reflects on her lived experiences managing and publicly documenting her journey with Bipolar I as an industry professional, and the importance of being a safe space for those struggling with mental health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPzhMdtCetk

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Where to find Kiana!

Substack: https://kianafitz.substack.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/outfoxxed

Twitter/X: https://x.com/kianafitz

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@kianafitzgerald

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@kianafitz

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Works Cited

Admin. “The Importance of Mental Health Disclosure in the Workplace.” Mycvcreator.com, My CV Creator, 13 Jan. 2025, www.mycvcreator.com/blog/the-importance-of-mental-health-disclosure-in-the-workplace.

Elliott, Marta, and Jordan C. Reuter. “The Benefits and Challenges of Employment for Working Professionals Diagnosed with Mental Illness.” Community Mental Health Journal, vol. 58, July 2021, pp. 645–56, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00866-x.

Novotney, Amy. “Why Mental Health Needs to Be a Top Priority in the Workplace.” Apa.org, American Psychological Association, 21 Oct. 2022, www.apa.org/news/apa/2022/surgeon-general-workplace-well-being.

Watrous, Jessica. “The Mental Health Trust Gap between Employers and Employees.” Psychology Today, 7 May 2025, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/quality-of-care/202505/the-mental-health-trust-gap-between-employers-and-employees?msockid=372459ae87aa6cf402824d4a865b6d4d.