Employers' attitudes towards employment of people with mental illnesses in Mzuzu, Malawi.

In Mzuzu as elsewhere, people with mental health problems have trouble finding and keeping jobs, and one aim of psychiatric rehabilitation is to assist them in this. This requires an understanding of the factors which lead to under-employment in this group, including the stigmatising attitudes of potential employers. Our survey explored this with hand delivered questionnaire administered to 58 of the main employers in Mzuzu, of whom 46 (79%) responded. Despite an often assumed negative attitude towards the mentally ill, we did not find high levels of stigmatisation or discrimination against this group. Fifty two per cent of respondents stated that they would consider offering work to recovered psychiatric patients and might even adapt working practices or provide extra training to accommodate them. As well as guiding our community education programmes on mental health the findings have implications for psychiatric rehabilitation services in the region, which as well as attending to daily living skills and rural crafts should be focused to maximise clients' employment opportunities on the open job market.