Starting a new job can be daunting but for those of us with mental health issues it can cause more problems. Do we tell them, and if so when? How much do we tell them? How will they respond? Will it put us at a disadvantage? There are many questions surrounding this so I thought I would do a little research.
Obviously it’s a personal choice whether you tell your employer and how much you disclose, but employers have a legal responsibility not to treat you any differently to anyone else. My experience tells me that some companies and organisations are clearly better at this than others, and times are slowly changing but more still needs to be done.
Many companies now have an obligation under the Equal Rights Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for employees which can be helpful, such as allowing you to start later in the morning, having your own regular desk space or working from home. It’s important to note that under the Equal Rights Act 2010, mental illness is classed as a disability so you can seek legal advice if you feel unsupported in the workplace. I wish I’d known that a few years ago.
The website https://www.time-to-change.org.uk has lots of useful advice for both employers and employees regarding mental health in the workplace.
As many as one in three people will experience some kind of mental illness at some time, whether it’s stress, anxiety, depression, bereavement or something else. The only way the stigma is going to end is by talking about it in the same way that we talk about physical illnesses.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states on their website that over 11 million working days are lost due to stress in the workplace in a year. So if more is being done to tackle mental illness in the workplace, why is that number so staggeringly high? With me, stress exacerbated my already underlying condition and I expect a lot of other people could be in a similar situation.
The Vicious Cycle 