What IT can learn from the mental health movement

Every CEO, every executive, and just about every worker in the developed world today “talks” and “walks” information technology. Major portions of the global population are always-on and perpetually plugged-in to a myriad of machines.

Mental health as a point of discussion, awareness, and contemplation is on a similar path to ubiquity. Dr. Stephanie Marcello, AVP of Academics, Integration, and Innovation at Rutgers University, speaking about mental health issues in the workplace during the New Jersey Business & Industry Association’s 2023 Insights and Outlooks summit told attendees, “We can’t not not talk about it. It is oozing out of our pores.”

Shapers of public opinion and behavioral influencers — professional athletes (e.g., Jonathan Phelps, Simone Biles, Serena Williams), celebrities (e.g., Adele, Miley Cyrus, Noelia Voigt Miss USA 2023) and politicians (e.g., Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman) — are now routinely going public with their mental health struggles.