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Diversity can be referred to almost any dimension that “may lead to the perception that another person is different from self” (van Knipennberg et al., 2004, p.1008). In organizations it is referred mainly to age, gender, race, tenure and functional background. Despite increasing interest in fair treatment of disabled individuals in work environment, most research has been limited to assess attitude toward employing disabled people and biases in recruitment, instead of studying the process underlying attitudes (e.g. Stone e Colella, 1996). People with mental illness often experience stigma: they are labelled, set apart, and discriminated in different fields (e.g. Penn & Corrigan, 2002; Coture e & Penn, 2003). Two main strategies has been used to reduce stigma against the mentally ill: education programs (Mayville & Penn, 1998) and contact (Allport, 1954). Both personal and professional contact have been linked to reduced stigma (Alexander & Link, 2003). Although the optimal objective conditions for contact are well known, the subjective perception of contact (perceived quality of this friendships) is rarely considered in empirical research (Van Dick et al., 2004). Following the social categorization tradition of studies in workplace diversity field (Williams & O’Reilly, 1996) the present research focuses on the role of emotions in changing negative attitudes against mentally ill disabled people in workplace settings. In Italy, law 68/1999 has included mental illness into disabilities, giving the possibility to mentally ill disabled people to work in for profit organizations. The sample is composed of 70 italian colleagues of a mentally ill disabled person. The SEM model (Amos 4.0) shows that the proximity and the frequency of contact influence the perceived importance of the relationship (“friendship” to “to be part of the same organization”) and these variables determine the positive opinion change of colleagues about mental illness, following the contact.

Stream: Disability, Health

Paper: My Colleague is a Mentally Ill Disabled Person. Can Contact at Work Change Attitudes Towards Mental Illness?

I'm a work and organization psychologists interested in different fields: wellness at work, burnout, workplace diversity. I'm especially interested in mental illness and barriers to work and stigma. I generally apply a psycho-social approach to understand person-organization fit.