A few weeks ago, a web developer named Madalyn Parker emailed her colleagues at Olark Live Chat in Ann Arbor, MI, letting them know that she would be out of the office, taking a couple of sick days for her own mental health.

Parker, who writes publicly about her anxiety and depression, received an email reply from her company’s CEO, Ben Congleton, praising her for articulating the reason for her absence and supporting her use of sick days for mental health care. Parker tweeted the email exchange:

Not only did thousands of people read and then respond to the email between Parker and her boss, many took to the thread to air their own experiences in the American workplace, where mental health issues have typically and for too long been endured in silence.

As popular tweets tend to do in our times, an avalanche of media attention followed, reinvigorating a discussion about how we approach and include mental health in our workplaces. Hopefully, Parker’s action and her employer’s support motivates changes in companies and organizations where mental health issues are handled with fear or indifference or worse.

And the popularity of Parker’s tweet might serve as an indication: if employers offer openness and compassion for mental health issues, they shall be rewarded.

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Read more about this story here and another take here, which addresses why this story is important for people of color bearing mental health issues on the job.

Check out Open Path’s online courses in mental health.