Bankers are more likely to discriminate against job applicants with mental health problems than any other profession. Almost half (46%) of bank workers admitted they would be reluctant to employ someone with a mental illness, according to new research.
The survey by national anti-stigma campaign Time to Change, asked more than 2,000 people if having a mental illness would be a barrier to employment and found evidence of entrenched negative attitudes across all sectors.
More than half of those questioned (56%) in the study confessed that they would not employ someone with a mental illness even if they knew they were the best candidate. The reasons given ranged from a belief that staff with a mental illness would be unreliable to concerns that their presence would "undermine team morale".
Mental health campaigners say such views could reinforce unfounded misconceptions around mental health and seriously hinder people's attempts to get back to work in the current economic climate.
Some professions were regarded as more likely to be damaged by a diagnosis than others. Around half of those surveyed said doctors, people working in emergency services and teachers were most likely to be hindered by revealing a mental illness. Just 21% felt that having a mental illness would damage the career of MPs, despite the fact that it is still illegal for someone with a history of mental health problems to work as a member of parliament.
A key plank of the government's welfare-to-work strategy involves getting long-term unemployed people with a mental health problem back into work. It is estimated that 40-50% of the long-term unemployed have a mental health problem and that a similar proportion of incapacity benefit claimants have a primary diagnosis of a mental health problem.
For more information on the anti Stigma campaign and to read the press report visit the Time to Change website.