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The word stigma is challenging to understand. There are two types of stigma[1]:
Stigma is a result of a condition or conditions individuals or groups have that are considered abnormal in a community. People who are stigmatized are rejected due to stereotyping of their conditions. An example of this is seeing people who have any a mental health diagnosis, such as mild depression, as potentially dangerous. Whatever allows us to see people as different and treat them negatively as a result is considered to stigma. We refer to this theme as “Stigma” as that is and how the participants experienced their (mis)treatment. In legislation the Canadian Human Rights Code bars employers from discriminating on the basis of specific conditions, some of which participants mentioned, such as gender and age. Participants suspected that challenges and disabilities they have that were named in the Human Rights Code were reasons for them not being offered jobs, but did not mention them as breaches of their rights, only the feeling of stigma. As our mandate was to listen to the voices of participants and reflect their perceptions, we are only addressing the breaching of the law by employers as it arose in interviews. In our use of the concept of stigma we saw it as the process of employers categorizing potential employees into ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ workers based on factors that may or may not be directly related to the job. An example would be a decision to hire someone for a physically demanding position based on their sex or age. The older person may be capable of performing the task, but the employer assumes they can’t due only to their apparent older age. In our experience, we found participants were to a large extent aware of their limitations and were not seeking jobs that their challenges or disabilities would prevent them from accomplishing. However, stigma was an extremely prevalent theme with participants. It appears to pervade nearly all aspects of the participants’ lives, not just employment. Stigma appeared in our interviews in a variety of forms. The conditions participants had that caused them to be stigmatized ranged from issues of age to having a visual impairment Some of the stigmatizing conditions specifically identified by participants were:
DESCRIPTION OF STIGMA
8.1 HEALTH ISSUESParticipants with mental illness experiencing stigma were common and multilayered. Participants told us that just being known as someone who has a mental health problem led people, especially potential employers, to have a hands-off attitude. The lack of understanding of the wide variety of mental illnesses/mental health issues led to some people with mental health issues being rejected needlessly. The term mental illness can cover a wide variety of conditions and needs. Some participants characterized themselves as having very mild illnesses that could be effectively dealt with by minor supports. All they needed to be successful employees was regular access to medication and/or the ability to take a break when feeling overwhelmed. If effectively communicated to the employer, and incorporated into the person’s job, these minor changes did lead to successful employment experiences. One participant told us of learning that when he started to feel overwhelmed by the stress on the job, a quick break would allow him to regain his ability to continue to work. At times he could not identify that it was happening and things would careen out of control, leading him to lose jobs. With the help of counseling and medication he was able to deal with most of these episodes. When he shared his need for brief breaks with staff, they would signal it was time for him to take a ‘smoke break’ when they sensed he was starting to become overwhelmed. He didn’t need to name his needs as a ‘mental illness’ (panic attacks). He could avoid the stigma of mental illness when he simply asked his coworkers for a little extra help. Others who were diagnosed with major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder had more significant needs. We discuss specific ways to meet their needs in Theme Chapter 2: Employment Services. For them, it was essential to find a supportive employer who knew about their condition and who was willing to support their need for significant workplace adaptations. In addition they had to address the issue of stigma and how to overcome it.
A participant we spoke to felt so self conscious about his condition that he was unwilling to take any steps towards his career path. John had been diagnosed with a serious mental illness over 20 years ago. He had been on two career paths when he developed schizophrenia in his mid-20s. He was in University working on a business degree and was part of a band that played semi-regularly in a club. John has since recovered to the point that he has regular tasks in his day, attends a day program regularly, and is given responsibility for a number of activities in his volunteer work in his church and other community groups. The main noticeable impact of his mental illness is the side effect of a medication he took many years ago. His head ‘cranes around’ involuntarily. It does not bother him, but he worries about the impact on others.
He has responsibilities to care for his parents, and sees that he will focus more on the career path once they no longer need the support. However, he is unwilling to work towards having connections for that future due to his assumption of being stigmatized. Those with other disabilities or life challenges not due to mental illnesses deeply resented being grouped as having mental illnesses. Those with acquired brain injury, for example, adamantly stated ‘we are not crazy (or stupid)’, in asking for understanding about their specific condition. Some participants experienced temporary mental health conditions due primarily to their experiences as Discouraged Job Seekers. Participants with no mental health background who had been employed at reasonable jobs for a number of years became unemployed. Their experiences over the years of either not finding appropriate employment or any job led them to experience either depression or anxiety for the first time in their lives. One participant told us of her experience with such a change in her life. She said she told her regular Employment Support worker about going on medication to help her deal with her stress. This triggered a referral to the local Canadian Mental Health Association’s (CMHA) vocational program, which she told us, helped her more than the standard support she’d obtained. Her response to being grouped with others with mental health challenges sadly replicated the stigma attached to that condition by the general population.
The participants in our project experienced discrimination on the basis of their disabilities. Some of them had disabilities that were not noticeable initially, such as a brain injury or being hard of hearing. In these situations they told us about experiencing rejection everywhere in their lives based on people finding out about their disability. Sally has a visual impairment, and is not completely blind. She initially appears not to have any disability. During interviews where she shared that she has a visual impairment she experienced this reaction:
Age discrimination was the most frequent stigma mentioned by participants as a barrier to employment. Eva is 60 years old, and developed her career later in life. She was working for a company with apparently no performance concerns, when a new supervisor was hired. The supervisor took her into a room, closed the door and asked her, “What on earth are you thinking? Doing this at your age?’ Later that person eliminated her job, and hired a young man for a similar job. Elaine went back to college for re-training, and completed her certificate successfully.
Those who experienced a feeling of discrimination due to their age had two reactions. First, although they were frustrated that they did not get a job, they saw the employers reasoning, especially for low skilled jobs
The second reaction was that they could not understand the thinking of employers who were losing the opportunity to utilize the older workers’ knowledge, experience and maturity. This was especially true when it came to jobs that required years of training.
A number had thought about the tendency to hire young rather than older workers and were able to give financial reasons for hiring older workers as well.
Although grateful for its existence, participants were uncomfortable with being dependent on the social assistance system. Peoples’ negative reactions when they learned of the participants being on government assistance were obvious to them.
The participants we spoke to wanted to be employed. Their personal feelings of failure about not being employed were made worse by the reaction of others to hearing of their joblessness.
We believe the stigma of being an unsuccessful job seeker in itself feeds into participants' lack of success. Not being offered the opportunity to be given fair consideration for jobs contributed significantly to participants’ poor self image, which in turn, made job seeking more difficult.
Being both dependent on the government for financial support, and being unsuccessful at job finding led participants to see themselves doubly as failures:
We saw a negative interactive spiral effect of participants feeling stigmatized for challenges and disabilities such as having had a brain injury, then continually being unsuccessful in finding a job, and being stigmatized further because of that. It led participants to feel their confidence decrease and then gradually become immobilized.
IMPLICATIONS OF STIGMA FOR EMPLOYMENT
We spoke to participants who had problems that required some form of adjustment of the job requirements in order to take a job. Knowing when to tell a potential employer about their challenge or disability and their need for some special adaptation in working (“accommodation”[2]) was extremely difficult for the participants. As a result of experiences like those of Lynne, quote in the introduction to this chapter, participants felt that if they told an employer about their need for accommodation before being offered a job they may not be offered it. However, if they waited too long to ask for needed support, they would be perceived as having failed to meet the standards of the job, and lose it. In one of Lynne’s experiences the employer heard that she was disabled and made assumptions about what she needed. Lynne was applying for a job that required some lifting that she could do – from the conversation she sensed the employer was visualizing her in a wheelchair - she needed the ability to take more frequent, but shorter, breaks than were standard for the workplace. She had attempted to introduce the issue early, hoping they could deal with any necessary accommodations easily and clearly. In her opinion, bringing up the issue when she did lost her a job offer. Like Lynne above, not knowing if, when and how to tell an employer about a need for accommodation was a significant obstacle for many participants. It led many to feel so vulnerable that after a few experiences of either not being offered employment, or losing jobs when their condition became apparent, that considering re-engaging in an employment search process led to significant anxiety and stress. Ella had a serious mental health problem that she did not reveal to her manager until it was too late. She conducted herself so well at her initial position that she was promoted. Two months into the job, this additional stress caused her to have a psychotic break and she left in a crisis. To this day she regrets not having told the employer about her needs. Publicity campaigns for acceptance of people with mental health issues indicate the attitude towards mental illness in North American society is persistent and filled with myths and stereotyping. In the United States a “National Mental Health Anti - Stigma Campaign” was launched[3] In Nova Scotia at the Schizophrenia Association’s provincial conference, a play written by Lunenburg resident Laura Burke portraying the negative images the public has about mental health, was presented. When interviewed about why such a play was important, the Executive Director of the Schizophrenia Association of Nova Scotia said:
Our research has brought us to recognize the importance of such projects. We feel the more opportunities people have to encounter those with conditions that can create stigma, the more likely they are to see the person holistically, and see beyond perceived differences. The Autism Society of Nova Scotia ran a television advertising campaign in late 2010 explaining how valuable hiring people with autism can be. We support these actions, and believe it takes these, and many other steps to successfully change the public attitudes to various challenges and disabilities and lead to more acceptances of people with a wide variety of needs.
Participants who had challenges and disabilities that society values negatively experienced stigma in aspects of their lives. In regards to job seeking they need support to know how to bring up their challenge or disability and the need for accommodation. They need to know how to effectively communicate with the employer in a way that the stigmatizing challenge or disability doesn't prevent the employer from offering them a job. There is a role for a liaison worker to create a successful dynamic between the job seeker and the employer. [1]From the online toolkit Building Blocks to Peer Success. For more information, visit http://www.hdwg.org/peer_center/training_toolkit. Back to Table of Contents |
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© Pathways to Work Research Project.
Banner photo by Linda Davidson, Side photo by HIRATA Yasuyuki
Banner photo by Linda Davidson, Side photo by HIRATA Yasuyuki
The Pathways to Work Research Project is funded under the Canada-Nova Scotia Labour Market Agreement. 