Relationships between occupation, attitudes towards mental health problems in the workplace and mental health stigma

Discrimination against people with mental health problems in the workplace is still prominent. Characteristics of occupations can influence aspects of stigma and attitudes to mental health problems in the workplace context. We investigated occupational differences in mental health stigma, and attitudes to mental health in the workplace.

Data from the British Social Attitudes 2015 survey were used. Logistic and linear regression models were conducted to investigate associations between occupational categories, stigma as measured by desire for social distance, and attitudes towards mental health in the workplace.

We found occupational differences in attitudes towards mental health in the workplace, but not in levels of stigma. Compared to managerial and professional workers, lower supervisory and technical workers (group 4), semi-routine and routine workers (group 5) were less likely to believe that paid work is good for mental health (group 4: odds ratio (OR) = 0.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.24-0.61; group 5: OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.24-0.49) and people with depression should return to work when they can do some or most of the job (group 4: OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.48-0.94; group 5: OR=0.52, 95% CI=0.41-0.66). People in semi-routine and routine occupations were less likely to believe that having schizophrenia should not affect promotion at work (OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.62-0.97) than managerial and professional workers.

Our findings reinforce the importance of job characteristics on attitudes to mental health in the workplace. More support is needed for small companies to help them develop mental health policies. Modifications are needed to improve job control and ensure adjustments can be made.