18th October 2010 - Time To Change In The Workplace

According to the Department of Health (DOH), 40 per cent of people who claim incapacity benefit have a mental health problem [1]. Most of them want to work - but unfortunately one DOH survey shows that only around 37 per cent of employers are willing to take on someone with a mental health problem [2].

In contrast, more than 60 per cent of employers are willing to take on someone with a physical disability.

A report from the Social Exclusion Unit paints a similarly grim picture [3]. The report suggests that 75 per cent of employers would not consider employing anyone who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia and that 55 per cent of people with a mental health problem found that stigma was a barrier to employment.

Now a new national campaign called Time to Change is trying to challenge stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems and encourage people to talk more about mental health in the workplace in a bid to help end mental health prejudice.

Thanks to the Time to Change programme, people like Stephen Wedderburn, from North Shields, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1984, is now speaking out about his experiences of stigma at work.

According to Stephen, family and friends that have known him from childhood don’t treat him any differently. Sadly, this is not true of other people and Stephen has found it virtually impossible to get a job due to the stigma around his mental illness.

Having studied for three years gaining a degree in environmental management, Stephen knows he has the ability to work but says he gets very few job interviews and is tired of being knocked back.

“I am often discriminated against by potential employers because of my illness. I am completely honest in declaring my mental health problem on application forms as I want people to be aware of my condition – why should I hide it? It makes me who I am,” he said.

“I understand that some employers could be nervous because they fear people with mental illness as being violent. I, however, would not hurt a fly. I am the gentlest person you could wish to meet and avoid trouble at all costs.”

Although the Government says it wants to help people with mental health problems back to work, a recent DOH survey into attitudes to mental illness found that respondents were far less likely to be comfortable talking to an employer about their mental health than a friend or family member (39 per cent versus 69 per cent) [4].

Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, said: “For many of the 1 in 4 people that experience mental health problems, it is discrimination rather than the illness than becomes the biggest obstacle to overcome. Stigma can even prevent people with mental health problems from starting a career or being promoted.

“Mental health problems are a common part of life in the 21st century, and we all know someone who has a mental health problem, whether we realise it or not. The stigma surrounding mental illness can make it hard for people to speak out - this is one of our last great taboos in the workplace.”

Time to Change is a nationwide campaign led by leading mental health charities Mind and Rethink and funded by £16m from the Big Lottery Fund and £4m from Comic Relief. The campaign in the north east is being supported by NHS North East through the New Leaf New Life programme.

Time to Get Moving events, which bring people together to get active and challenge stigma, will be happening across the region all week. To find out more go to http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/what-were-doing/get-moving¹

Employment and mental health – Facts and Figures

• It is estimated that stress related illness is costing the NHS between £300 and £400 million every year [5].

• According to the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, the total cost of mental health problems is around £77 billion per year.

• Around 6.8 million people of working age in the UK are disabled [6]. This is around 20 per cent of the working age population.

• More than 2.5 million individuals receive incapacity benefit and/or severe disability allowance [7].

• Close to one million people are claiming incapacity benefit due to mental health problems [8].

• People who are disabled because of mental health problems have lower employment rates than all other disabled groups.

• Only around 20 per cent of people with mental health problems are in employment [9].