Stigmatized at Work
BARRIERS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Considerable recent efforts by mental health leaders in
Canada have been successful in opening the conversation
about mental health in the workplace. Such conversations
are vital to the reduction of stigma for people struggling
with a mental disorder. However, there is still a long way to go
and stigma acts as a barrier to psychological health and safety in
our workplaces.
A research study on disclosure decision making at work (Toth &
Dewa, 2014) found that employees diagnosed with a mental dis-order
perceived significant differences in disclosing a mental versus
a physical health issue. They also discussed their fear of being ste-reotyped;
employees were concerned about being perceived as
health & safety
incompetent to perform their job, that they could just “get over it”
if they “pulled up their socks” and that they were manipulating the
system for their own benefit. Moreover, participants feared being
viewed or treated differently following disclosure of the mental
disorder (e.g., being the subject of gossip, concerns about job secu-rity
and loss of opportunities for advancement).
These research findings highlight the vulnerability of a group of
people in the workplace, a position that is protected through adop-tion
of a default position of nondisclosure due to fear of being
stigmatized. While the study discussed here is related to mental
disorders, it can be argued that the same processes are likely to be
at play for any individual with a concealable stigmatized identity.
By Dr. Kate Toth, CHRL
stockbroker / 123RF Stock Photo
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ SEPTEMBER 2018 ❚ 41
/profile_stockbroker
/HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA