The impact of job accommodations on stereotyping and emotional responses to coworkers with anxiety or depression.

The current research examined the impact of job accommodations (Study 1) and educational information (Study 2) on responses to coworkers with depression or anxiety. Participants read a scenario about a fictitious coworker returning to work following a leave of absence and answered items on negative stereotypes, unfairness, and emotional responses. Scenarios varied the reason for leave [depression, anxiety, surgery] and accommodation [yes, no]. In Study 2, half of participants also read information about the employer’s duty to accommodate. The results provided no evidence that accommodations or educational information influenced the aspects of stigma measured in this study, but highlighted the potential importance of perceived unfairness. Participants who endorsed negative stereotypes were more likely to find the situation unfair to themselves and to, in turn, respond with negative emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research