Is workplace mental health stigma associated with managers’ prevention of employee’s sick-leave?

Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) are a common cause for sick-leave. CMDs carry stigma and it has been argued that stigma impairs support in the workplace. Earlier research has investigated managers’ personal stigma towards CMDs, but insight into contextual stigma at work, and its importance for sick-leave prevention is lacking. We investigated personal stigma and three layers of contextual stigma (employee, collegial, organizational) and its association with managers’ possibility to take different types of actions to prevent sick-leave. 2,769 Swedish managers from the private sector partook in a survey. Personal stigma was measured with an established scale that was supplemented with four additional items capturing contextual stigma. The managers’ possibility to prevent sick-leave regarding 20 possible preventive actions was assessed using a video vignette design. Principal component analysis revealed three types of actions: ‘Actions to adapt tasks and setting', ‘Actions to involve experts', and ‘Social support actions'. Multiple linear regression analyses were done with the layers of stigma as independent variables for each of the three types of actions, adjusted for co-variates. Personal stigma was significantly associated with the possibility for all types of actions (p<.001). Collegial and organizational stigma was associated with the possibility for ‘Actions to adapt tasks and setting’ (p<.001). Collegial stigma was associated with the possibility for ‘Actions to involve experts’ (p<.001). All contextual stigma variables were associated with the possibility for ‘Social support actions’ (p<.01). More workplace stigma was associated to lower possibility to take action. Personal and contextual stigma were associated with less possibilities for managers to prevent sick-leave in relation to the vignette case. This calls for greater awareness for mental health stigma in workplaces and how stigma can impair sick-leave prevention. KEY MESSAGES: • Workplace mental health stigma consists of personal, employee, collegial, and organizational stigma. Managers can take three types of actions: adapt tasks and settings, involve experts, and support. • More workplace mental health stigma is associated to lower possibility for managers to take action to prevent sick-leave.