Millions of individuals are affected by mental illness each year, but many still find it difficult to speak up or get help because of the stigma. StigmaZero is a mental health training provider dedicated to eliminating stigma in the workplace. With a unique blend of lived experience, storytelling, and practical tools, the company helps organizations create a stigma-free environment where employees feel confident, informed, and supported when it comes to mental health. Founded by mental health advocate and author Jason Finucan, StigmaZero combines expert insights with powerful personal experience to empower teams to change the way they understand and talk about mental health.

Their training program includes engaging video guides, interactive activities, downloadable resources, and HR templates to support skill development and positive organizational change. Through individual and group activities, learners are encouraged to reflect on and apply the concepts they’ve learned. StigmaZero’s comprehensive approach also provides certified completion, ensuring that all participants are equipped with the knowledge and tools to foster a mentally healthy workplace.

We at Business Honor had the privilege of interviewing Jason Finucan, the Founder & CEO of StigmaZero—to explore how their services help in eliminating the stigma to seek help regarding employees’ mental wellness.

Interview Highlights

Can you share the story or defining moment that led you to found StigmaZero, and how that experience shaped the company’s mission?

I became a mental health advocate in 2006, a year after being diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder. From 2006 to 2015, I delivered 4-5 volunteer keynotes per year for a mental health support organization, AMI-Quebec. It became clear that sharing my story was having a profound impact on those audiences, which led to my wife saying “You need to quit your job (as a fundraising professional for a private school) and do this full time.” I founded StigmaZero a few months later.

What separates StigmaZero’s approach to mental health training from other workplace wellness programs?

Most mental health training is delivered from an academic perspective by medical professionals or others without personal experience. On the other hand, I have deep experience with illness: I had a nerve defect in my heart resulting in open-heart surgery in 1988, and was diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder in 2005. I know what it’s like to experience an illness that bears zero stigma (no one judges someone with a bad heart), and conversely what it’s like to experience the deep      stigma of mental illness, from myself and from my colleagues, managers, friends, and family.

How do the interactive elements and multimedia resources such as video guides, group activities, and downloadable tools improve learner engagement and retention in your mental health training programs?

In order for training programs to be effective, and to be an engaging learning experience, they must have a blend of delivery methods. StigmaZero’s training offers exactly this kind of impactful learning environment.

With mental health challenges now contributing significantly to absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover, how do you measure the actual impact of your training programs on organizational performance and employee well-being?

We have an entrance and exit survey built into our online programs. This provides KPIs that we can measure, for example: prior to our training, only 30% of respondents would feel comfortable disclosing a mental illness to their manager, but after our training that number is 70%. That is a dramatic change, and evidence that our program is changing workplace cultures for the better.

Where do you envision StigmaZero in the next five years, and how do you plan to scale impact without losing the company’s core ethos?

I envision StigmaZero being a valued service provider to a growing community of organizations. We are in an ideal position to scale, as we can deliver our training programs to new clients very efficiently – all while adhering closely to our mission and vision.

Practical Tools and Insights to Combat Workplace Mental Health Stigma

StigmaZero’s HR-specific templates and policy guidelines, combined with the personal storytelling in Jason Finucan’s book, play a crucial role in helping organizations implement sustainable, stigma-free mental health strategies. The templates and guidelines provide practical tools for managing mental health in the workplace, while the book deepens understanding by sharing Jason’s personal experiences with both physical and mental illness. This blend of lived experience and professional insight influences the training philosophy at StigmaZero, ensuring that the approach is both humanized and research-driven.

Additionally, StigmaZero addresses the persistent stigma surrounding mental illness by creating an environment where employees feel supported and safe to disclose mental health challenges without fear of judgment or isolation. Overcoming stigma requires both individual and organizational effort to foster open communication, challenge misconceptions, and develop a culture where mental health can be openly discussed and supported without shame.

Jason Finucan | Bio

Jason Finucan, the Founder & CEO, is a mental health advocate and speaker with 19 years dedicated to ending the stigma of mental illness. Jason is also an author and the instructor of the Create Your StigmaZero Workplace online training program.

As someone who has experienced both a major physical illness (heart defect leading to open heart surgery in 1988) and a major mental illness (bipolar 1 disorder leading to hospitalization in 2005), Jason shares his personal experiences with impactful storytelling techniques. These moving stories can be found as part of StigmaZero’s online and live training programs, along with his inspirational keynotes and book Jason: 1 | Stigma: 0 – My battle with mental illness at home and in the workplace.

Jason aims to make this difficult topic accessible to all, and with this goal in mind he blends real-world stories with rigorous research. His vision is for a future without stigma, which informs his efforts to empower others to develop a deep understanding of this topic. He aims to promote the growing awareness of mental illness – and effort to end the stigma.

"StigmaZero’s innovative training programs provide employees, managers, HR personnel and leadership with the skills, knowledge, and tools needed to better respond to these complex workplace challenges."

"For more information or to reach Jason Finucan directly, visit www.stigmazero.com"