title: "Should we talk about it?": A study of the experiences business leaders have of employing people with mental health problems.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Job seekers with mental health problems are more at risk of being excluded from the labour market than those without such problems.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our aim has been to explore the experiences business leaders have of employing people with mental health problems and to investigate whether they can suggest what might be done in order to include more job seekers with mental health problems in their companies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our empirical sample consisted of in-depth interviews with ten business leaders who were recruited from five public and five private companies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On the one hand business leaders want more openness in the hiring process in relation to any psychological problems job seekers have. On the other hand, employers were unsure whether job seekers would state that they have or have had mental health problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study concludes that more attention must be focused on changing business leaders' attitudes and changing unhealthy corporate cultures that create and sustain the idea that people with mental health problems are disabled. In order to reverse the trend of increasing numbers of people with mental health problems being excluded from the labour market, it seems imperative that business leaders develop their understanding of how the workplace can accommodate employees who have a history of mental health problems.
authors.forename: Kaare Torgny
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Pettersen
authors.forename: Ragnhild
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fugletveit
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010560:Personnel Selection; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014342:Truth Disclosure
keywords: Job seekers; inclusion; openness