Work Environmental Support from Small Industry's Employer Perspectives for Workers with Mental Illness

Objective: To determine the attitude of small business employers toward employing people with mental illness. Methods: This was cross sectional study with sixty participants from Kelantan, using Attitude Scale for Mental Illness. Results: Significant differences was seen in the mean attitude scale towards mental illness in the subscales separatism, restrictiveness, benevolence and stigmatization with p=0.00, between the participants and a group of medical students from previous study. No significant differences in stereotyping and pessimistic prediction were seen between these groups. Conclusions: The participants had negative attitude towards people with mental illness. Raising awareness among employers at workplace will improve their perceptions.