Effects of Unfounded Stereotypes and Performance Expectancies on Employment Decisions About Individuals With Depression

Abstract

Depression is the most pervasive mental illness in our society, and many of those with the disorder have difficulties gaining and maintaining employment. There are a number of reasons for these problems, but one of the primary reasons is that employees with depression are often stereotyped negatively (e.g., weak, lacking abilities). These stereotypes are unfounded,but they have an extremely negative impact on job-related outcomes (e.g., hiring, performance evaluations). Another reason for the employment problems of people with depression is supervisors automatically infer that they are unable to perform jobs. This inference is widespread, but it is not substantiated by research in clinical psychology (Andrews & Thomson, 2009). In fact, some researchers have argued that those with depression may actually have higher levels of performance on analytical and problem-solving tasks because the rumination associated with depression motivates them to focus on issues in detail (Andrews & Thomson, 2009). Despite the fact that stereotypes and job performance expectancies about people with depression are unfounded, relatively little research in human resource management or related fields has examined these issues in organizational settings. Thus, we offered hypotheses to guide future research on the effects of stereotypes and unsubstantiated performance expectancies on employment decisions about employees with depression. We also presented a number of interventions that organizations might use to increase the inclusion and support the employment of those with depression.