According to SHRM research, over half of working Americans have noticed an increase in workplace political discussions over the past four years, intensifying societal divides that frequently surface in professional settings. Despite this, employees consistently express a strong need for kindness, respect, and tolerance. This has only heightened concerns about incivility, cultural divides, and mental health challenges—issues that directly affect employee well-being and organizational success.
SHRM research shows that negative mental health outcomes make workers less likely to thrive and more likely to feel alone, overwhelmed, and depressed. Moreover, these mental health outcomes drive negative business outcomes including a 35% reduction in productivity, higher rates of absenteeism, higher employee turnover, decreased engagement, and higher overall healthcare costs for the employer. Civility remains a powerful antidote. It is a cornerstone of healthy workplace culture, fostering psychological safety, collaboration, and trust. Employers are uniquely positioned to ensure respectful and productive interactions across teams and organizations.
Join SHRM and SHRM Foundation for an insightful conversation on the crucial role civility plays in fostering workplace mental health. Discover actionable strategies to cultivate civility and unlock stronger, healthier organizational environments where employees and workplaces thrive.
Meet the Presenters
-
Dr. Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP
Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP, is SHRM's chief data and analytics officer leading intelligence, insights and innovation functions. As leader of SHRM’s Research & Insights business units, his total career portfolio has been based upon practical thought leadership designed to make better workplaces and to grow revenue across industry . His research has been featured in numerous media outlets including USA Today, NBC News, BBC, CNN, and more. He has served as a member of several speaker’s bureaus with more than 400 speaking engagements over the last decade.
His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world human capital issues. They include a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for designing performance management systems; and the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award for extensive applied research on the link between human resource management and organizational sustainability.
Throughout his career, Dr, Alonso has published works in peer-reviewed journals, authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, and authored books like The Price of Pettiness, Talking Taboo: Making the Most of Polarizing Topics (just released), and Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice. Alex also serves as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for HR Magazine. He has served on several professional society boards including as president for the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington Area. Alex currently serves on the Secretary of Defense’s Defense Business Board (DBB), the North American HR management Association (NAHRMA) board and the Zeal Capital Advisory board. He is a Fellow of SIOP, Division 14 of the American Psychological Association.
-
Marjorie Morrison
Marjorie Morrison is SHRM's Mental Health Executive in Residence; she is also an accomplished entrepreneur, and licensed mental health psychotherapist with over 30 years of clinical and business experience.
She has effectively identified issues and implemented strategic solutions within the mental health sector. Ms. Morrison founded PsychArmor Institute, a leading nonprofit educational platform that trains civilians in supporting veterans. Later, she co-founded Psych Hub with Patrick J. Kennedy, growing it into a major platform for mental health education and connection to care, which now includes more than 1,500 resources and has garnered more than 30 million views on YouTube.
Marjorie has led insightful discussions at more than 200 national conferences, hosted hundreds of podcast interviews with mental health industry experts, penned numerous articles, and won several awards. She wakes up every day inspired to reimagine mental health through intentional and thoughtful design by leveraging the digital space and combining clinical research with the art of storytelling. Marjorie’s mission is to improve the quality of life of everyone who engages in the mental health system.
Morrison is a CA Licensed Marriage Family Therapist (LMFT), a CA Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), a PPS-credentialed School Counselor, and the author of “The Inside Battle: Our Military Mental Health Crisis.”
SHRM certification has approved this webinar for 1 PDC toward SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification. A program code will be provided at the end of the webinar.