ABSTRACT
Employment is a source of self-esteem, provides a secure reality base, and is one of the most important predictors of positive mental health. T. E. Backer has suggested that the role of mental health professionals in managing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) at work may be important in reducing the stress of both the person with HIV/AIDS and of coworkers. AIDS and AIDS-Related Complex lend themselves to investigation of the effects of employment on mental health and disease because there is considerable variability in the degree of severity of illness across categories, ranging from incapacitating to minimal effects on work performance. The homosexual with HIV disease in the workplace is in a particularly sensitive and important confluence of areas that may result in major psychological trauma, and it is critical that this be recognized in HIV-associated logistical, educational, and psychological workplace interventions.
