Educating employers or just the masses! Mental health at work

So at a time when every effort seems to be being made to change attitudes towards mental health I wonder how much is really changing in the workplace.  The Shaw trusts’ survey of attitudes in the work place

http://www.shaw-trust.org.uk/files/mental_health_report_2010_final.pdf

reports that attitudes to mental health have improved but are by no means positive. It seems that mental health is a whole different matter when it affects people working lives.

 ~15% of people (in 2006) thought that those with mental health problems shouldn’t be given any responsibility (no figures for 2009).

~11% (in 2009) think those with mental health problems who have been absent for more than several weeks will never recover

40% (in 2009) of employers view workers with mental health problems as a significant risk when employed in a public client facing role.

And the Time to change campaign poll of Adults, Aug 2009 reports:

92% believe admitting to having a mental illness would damage someone’s career

56% would not employ the best candidate for a job if they had a mental illness

 Yet

79% agree (58% strongly agree) that applicants should disclose mental health issues prior to recruitment.

With such bad feeling and stigma still attached to mental health it seems incongruous to me that employers should force the issue into the open at this stage, especially when 72% of companies have no clear mental health policy.

Yet this disclosure would give the employer ample opportunity to discriminate should they wish to. You say, ‘you want to help, you desire open conversation, you want to support,

 yet you put nothing in writing  so what kind of message are you really sending to the employees/ applicants?