Good morning! Matt Heimer, Fortune executive editor for features, filling in for Paige.
Last week, Fortune and cloud-computing software company ServiceNow assembled a group of CHROs from Chicago-area companies and institutions to talk about mental health in the workplace. The group was lively, opinionated, and eager to share insights—but above all, they were eager to hear from Andy Dunn.
Dunn is the cofounder and former CEO of Bonobos, a menswear company that began in the 2000s as an Internet-only apparel brand (back when that sounded like a crazy idea). Walmart bought the company for $310 million in 2017, delivering a lucrative exit for Dunn and his investors.
But the road to that victory was paved with emotional mayhem. As Dunn writes in his remarkable memoir, Burn Rate, he has bipolar disorder. The condition first manifested when he was 20, but as he told the group, his diagnosis “went into hiding, and remained in hiding for 16 years.” He earned a Stanford MBA, then founded, built, and raised tens of millions of dollars for Bonobos, all while untreated and suffering extremes of mania and depression that sabotaged his professional and personal relationships. “Imagine actually thinking you're God for a week,” Dunn said of his manic periods. “It’s the best week ever for you and the worst week imaginable for everyone else.”
It was fear of stigma that kept Dunn from getting medical help or opening up to colleagues. After all, he thought, who would want to invest in or work for a company run by someone with a serious mental health diagnosis? It was only after suffering a brutally painful manic episode—one that landed him in a psychiatric hospital and, briefly, in jail—that he opened up to his family and coworkers and sought treatment.
Today, Dunn’s on medication, in therapy, and, he jokes, “without a full-time job” since his Bonobos exit. (He’s being modest: He's since launched a social-media app and VC firm.) And he’s pouring much of his energy into breaking down mental health stigma in the workplace.
The good news is that corporate culture has advanced since Dunn's diagnosis. Millennial and Gen Z professionals are far more comfortable than earlier generations with speaking openly about emotional and mental health challenges on the job. And C-suite leaders are increasingly making space for employees to talk openly and seek help.
CHROs, of course, are at the center of those interactions. And once our group of about a dozen sat down with Dunn over dinner, the conversation soared. The group represented institutions like local hospital groups, a major university, and a multinational food and beverage giant. Still, they had many shared ideas on standard best practices.
Making it easier for employees to find mental health providers was one theme. Many insurers still skimp on what they’ll reimburse or keep their provider networks painfully small; employers can step in to fill that gap. Employee resource groups for neurodiversity, the group said, are also becoming more common and impactful, and CHROs should engage them as full partners.
All attendees agreed there’s nothing more critical than candor, having leaders model the right atmosphere by sharing their own challenges and creating a safe space for others to discuss theirs. Many in the group said they’ve openly spoken about their issues—ranging from parenting challenges to panic attacks to ADHD diagnoses—to dozens or even hundreds of their coworkers.
It was this type of transparency that opened the door to health for Dunn: When he told Bonobos’s board about his disorder, they took the news in stride and helped him find treatment. Later, when he broke that news to Walmart executives during sale negotiations, they, too, were supportive. (Jacqui Canney was Walmart’s chief people officer at the time; she’s now in the same role at ServiceNow and frequently joins Dunn for talks like these.)
These “vectors of acceptance” give leaders a chance to model compassion and empathy, but Dunn points out they can also be acts of self-interest. Studies suggest that many kinds of neurodiversity, including ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and substance abuse, correlate with high performance in business environments.
As Dunn put it, “How do we unlock the strength but limit the shadows?” It’s a question we can all ask in the workplace.
Matt Heimer
matt.heimer@fortune.com
@matthewheimer
