Norwich - Reliance House Inc. has ranked second amongst mid-size Connecticut employers in a recent Hartford Courant/FOXCT Top Workplaces, and company executive director David Burnett received a leadership recognition award.

This is the second time in three years Reliance House has been named a Courant/FOXCT Top Workplace, placing fourth in 2011 in the mid-size employer category.

Burnett, who was the agency’s first full-time employee in 1978, received the 2013 Courant/FOXCT Top Leader award for mid-sized companies. Burnett was recognized for his leadership style that has developed a culture in which employees’ family life can be their primary focus without competing with their job.

Reliance House was honored Sept. 12 at a reception at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville. The Top Workplace awards were based on employee feedback. An employee survey was conducted by WorkplaceDynamics LLP, a research firm on organizational health and employee engagement.

Reliance House Inc. is a private, nonprofit agency that provides services to people with mental illness throughout southeastern Connecticut. The agency was founded in 1976 and now serves approximately 800 adults each year and has more than 200 employees. Programs include helping clients with daily life skills, housing, transportation, education, employment and budgeting.

Funding comes from both state and private grants as well as individual donors.

For information about Reliance House, go to www.reliancehouse.org.