Employment, Mental Health & Learning Disability Stigma.

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

OK, so after 2 years of being entirely state maintained, due to a psychotic episode, I have had pretty much all I can take of doing fuck all. It is starting to be a real bummer. I hate meeting new people and them asking "What do you do for a living?" I usually tell them I am unemployed rather than on sickness benefits.

I am about to start job-hunting again.   I am no longer on meds and haven't had symptoms in ages.

Psychosis and Schizophrenia are the most misunderstood and stigmatised of mental health issues, and I am wondering how much I should disclose to a prospective employer. I consider myself lucky as the shrink thought that it was a temporary thing, and that seems to have played out to be correct, and so therefore do not have the dread "schitzo" label.

I am quite happy to tell people I am not close to that I have had mental health issues, but due to the misunderstanding of the type of illness, I would rather them assume I have had something akin to depression.  Which, to be perfectly frank with y'all and myself, at this point, seems to be a problem. On most days I just sit in front of the 'puter and  don't even bother to get dressed.

Also I have a mild learning disability, (dyslexia) which in the past has had people tell me that "they wouldn't have hired me if they had known"

Discrimination on these grounds IS illegal, but a fucker to prove.

Anyway I am musing for some feedback from you fine, fine people, especially if you have a hand, or have had a part in employing and recruiting new people.

Is it better to be totally open, and risk not getting a job unless your new boss or interviewer is totally awesome?

OR

Is it better to be vague, and let them make their own assumptions?

OR

Lie by omission?

[Scribbly]

Discrimination is illegal.

Unfortunately employers hold all the cards and will screw you over on any grounds they can think of, honestly.

My advice is to lie by omission. There is no reason, unless asked point blank, why you should discuss it with them. I'd explain the gap in employment history as being health related, but stress that your doctor has said you can go back to work and that you really want to go back.

Heck, you can even have the bias work to your advantage. Explain that you don't want to be one of 'those people' who stay on benefits and just drift through life. Most people will be able to relate to that and will understand your frustration; it might also avoid them prying too deep into exactly why you were off.

Good luck! 

[Thurnez Isa]

Omission

or write, "Usually sane" on your resume.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Do not tell them you have mental health issues! I wouldn't hire someone who told me up front in the interview that they had depression or mental health issues, and not because of discriminating against people with those issues, but because that shit is private and does not belong on a resume or an interview any more than your sex habits belong on a resume or in an interview. So, if someone told me those things up front I would categorize them as "unlikely to maintain appropriate professional boundaries".

It is fair and appropriate to mention in an interview, as an aside, that you are mildly dyslexic; there is usually a part of any given interview where they ask what your weaknesses are, and that would be a good time to bring it up; something like "I'm a little dyslexic... it's not usually a problem, but I do have to doublecheck my writing" (this also makes you sound conscientious). Don't put it on your resume, though. Skip jobs where you think it might really cause a problem.

Once you have a job, keep in mind that your mental health issues are YOUR problem, not theirs. Don't mention it until you have gained their trust and they yours, if ever. If you do speak about it, try to keep it light. Call it a "breakdown" rather than a "psychotic episode". They're the same thing but the language you use shapes people's impressions.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I wouldn't even bring it up.  And if it comes up, lie like a mad bastard.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I wouldn't even bring it up.  And if it comes up, lie like a mad bastard.

I don't know about there, but here, they aren't legally supposed to ask, so lying your ass off is a perfectly acceptable response to a totally illegal question.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I wouldn't even bring it up.  And if it comes up, lie like a mad bastard.

I don't know about there, but here, they aren't legally supposed to ask, so lying your ass off is a perfectly acceptable response to a totally illegal question.

I lie on principle, as I know that the interviewer is lying to me.  The less accurate information exchanged, the better it is for everyone.

[Scribbly]

She will be asked to explain the two year gap in her employment history.

They might let it lie at 'medical leave', but they may want to press for more details. As far as I know this is entirely legal.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

She will be asked to explain the two year gap in her employment history.

They might let it lie at 'medical leave', but they may want to press for more details. As far as I know this is entirely legal.

They will want an explanation, but asking for details of her illness leave would be very illegal in the US, and I doubt it's legal in the UK. An adequate answer should be "I had to take medical leave for a fairly serious illness, and it took me nearly two years to recover my full health".

If they (illegally) inquire what the illness was, she's completely justified in making something up. Tuberculosis is a good one. Or cancer. But they aren't supposed to ask.

[Scribbly]

She will be asked to explain the two year gap in her employment history.

They might let it lie at 'medical leave', but they may want to press for more details. As far as I know this is entirely legal.

They will want an explanation, but asking for details of her illness leave would be very illegal in the US, and I doubt it's legal in the UK. An adequate answer should be "I had to take medical leave for a fairly serious illness, and it took me nearly two years to recover my full health".

If they (illegally) inquire what the illness was, she's completely justified in making something up. Tuberculosis is a good one. Or cancer. But they aren't supposed to ask.

Fair enough. This seems like pretty good advice to me, then.

[Cain]

Lie by omission, especially in the current employment climate.  All of the above advice re: lying is good to follow.

[P3nT4gR4m]

I have, in the past, actually checked the "no" box on forms, to the question "any illnesses including mental?"

There's nothing to gain from honesty and everything to lose. Unless you're applying for her majesty's armed forces or something similar, it's illegal for them to find out.

Also, when it comes to meeting new people, I like to give them a bit of time to get to know me before I "drop the bombshell". If you lead with it during the introductions then you have a potential hill to climb to convince them you're sane now (a little ignorance goes a long way), whereas if they know you well enough, it's more of a surprised shock - "my god I'd never have guessed!" becomes an education in mental illness - just like a bad cold - people get over it.

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

Thanks guise!

[navkat]

I wouldn't even bring it up.  And if it comes up, lie like a mad bastard.

Exactamundo.

It's illegal for them to ask you unless you can't perform the job's req tasks.

Gap in employment due to a "family emergency." No one has to know the family was you.

[Roly Poly Oly-Garch]

Do not tell them you have mental health issues! I wouldn't hire someone who told me up front in the interview that they had depression or mental health issues, and not because of discriminating against people with those issues, but because that shit is private and does not belong on a resume or an interview any more than your sex habits belong on a resume or in an interview. So, if someone told me those things up front I would categorize them as "unlikely to maintain appropriate professional boundaries".

Seconded. Since my employees work directly with the public, I definitely am on the look-out for too much openness in the interview. I'm pretty set that in the service sector there is definitely a right answer to "How you doing?" I've wrestled with a lot of employees who believe that that question is one calling out for an honest answer. If I spot that belief in the interview it saves me the hassle of dealing with it from an employee.

Also, as an interviewer, I do kind of expect lies, sometimes. Because of that, something close to the truth makes it very hard for my brain not to fill in some blanks in the worst possible way, whether I want to or not. So tell me about this at-home business you ran for 2 years? I may ask that question suspicious that what I'm about to hear is a complete fabrication, but even if it is, it doesn't give me much to speculate on. I may have some cynical tendencies that would leave me asking questions like "I wonder what kind of drugs this person was selling all that time..." But I'd also be confident that the interviewee was at least competent enough to lie about it properly. If that's not your cup of tea, though, "health problems", at least for me, would always be a 'nuff said.