Still stigma in the workplace for people with mental-health problems

U.K. anti-stigma campaign Time to Change surveyed more than 2,000 people around the country to investigate the links between stigma, mental health and employment prospects. Participants were asked to imagine that they were interviewing someone for a job and that the interviewee had admitted that they suffered from depression from time to time. 92% of people believed that admitting to having a mental illness would damage someone's career. The three careers felt to be most vulnerable were doctors (56%), the emergency services (54%) and teachers (48%). Interestingly only 21% of people thought an admission of mental illness would harm the career of an MP. Even if someone with depression was the best person for a job 56% said that they would not employ them. Of these people 17% said that they would not offer them a job because they would be unreliable, 10% said that they would be blamed if the employee took time off sick and 15% said that they were worried that a depressed person wouldn't work as well as other people or get on with other employees. Bank workers were the most likely to discriminate against someone with a mental illness.

You can find out more about the Time for Change survey at

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162173.php