Be honest -you wouldn't employ a person with certain mental health issues, would you?

[sportmax]

That's ludicrous- if they're competent and fit for the job - of course I would. That's what I imagine most people would say.
But I don't think people are really being honest with themselves.

What if the person had a mental health issue like social anxiety, would you still want to hire them? Probably not.

I would and have done.

I don't typically disclose I am mentally ill to people who I will likely never see again. If I get the job then I would discuss my situation with the manager.

I would and have.

I've been to 3 interviews in the past month and the feedback is you're too nervous, not what type of personality you're looking for, we want an outgoing, confident person. It's my social anxiety. People don't want to know me. I can do the jobs but they can't see that.

I only apply for jobs I am capable of doing. I rarely get them. Why? Well just crunch the numbers. Some jobs will have 100s of applicants. Even month-long student placements will have dozens of applicants. So let's even it out and say each job has on average 100 applicants. You shortlist this down to 5. That means you shortlist 1 in 20 candidates. You will only shortlist those who on paper can do the job, otherwise it's not worth your time or theirs bringing them into interview. You appoint one.

So for every job out there, you'll have far more people who can do the job than you have positions available which unfortunately means people who are more than capable don't get the job.

I have depression. When I was first diagnosed 10+ years ago I was signed off for several weeks. Now it's treated and managed and I average less than 1 sick day a year, and that's not depression related. But I don't pick jobs likely to make me depressed and I don't tell employers I have it. I get that it's annoying OP and I don't doubt there is discrimination out there. However, you are doing well to get that many interviews and you can fix your interview technique. So either work on that, or think about whether you're applying for the right jobs. Sorry to be blunt. We all have strengths and weaknesses and I have to bear in mind my MH, just as I bear in mind that I won't apply to be a lifeguard, because I can't swim.

Yes, there will be additional prejudice on top of this. But you can help by being selective. And don't beat yourself up. We have all been turned down for jobs we can do.

We've always been open minded, and taken people on to try. You never know until they are in the role, and to be honest, most problems appear fairly quickly if they are going to.

We recently employed a young female who declared an eating disorder at interview..... she phoned in sick 3 times over the 1st two weeks, was late twice and had serious attitude to it all to boot. She threatened us with ACAS and a solicitor due to discrimination when we told her it wasn't working out. She didn't seem to understand that we were trying to run a business

But she was a rarity, and others we have employed have been fairly easy to manage as long as they have been open about their conditions - the good parts outweighed the bad.

I don't think it is wrong of them to want to employ an outgoing, confident person who may have to give presentations to customers
Perhaps careers services should be advising people not to waste their time studying if the end career they’re aiming for won’t hire them because they’re introverted. Or perhaps universities shouldn’t be accepting applicants who’ll never get jobs. From the beginning I was encouraged to get qualifications and given every expectation of success, it wasn’t until I graduated and applied for jobs that I was told my qualifications are worthless if they’re not accompanied by a bubbly personality.

Perhaps careers services should be advising people not to waste their time studying if the end career they’re aiming for won’t hire them because they’re introverted. Or perhaps universities shouldn’t be accepting applicants who’ll never get jobs. From the beginning I was encouraged to get qualifications and given every expectation of success, it wasn’t until I graduated and applied for jobs that I was told my qualifications are worthless if they’re not accompanied by a bubbly personality.

A bubbly personality isn't a requirement in many jobs and I sincerely doubt any employer has ever told you that. The ability to come over well at interview and demonstrate the competencies is usually necessary to secure a job. If being 'introverted' means you don't engage properly with the interviewer and fail to answer the questions fully, then yes that's likely to have a negative impact.

PettyContractor that's interesting but ASD is not a mental health condition so doesn't really relate to the post

I think there's a very annoying thing now that all jobs ask for an extrovert and outgoing personality
And these “young, modern” companies crow about how they all go for drinks after work and have these great social events at weekends, and you’re supposed to be thrilled. Not feel sick because after work you just want to go home. It doesn’t just exclude introverts, it also excludes anyone with children or caring responsibilities who doesn’t have time or freedom to socialise.

Let’s face it though if you have to decide between 2 good candidates and one has health issues it would be sensible to choose the one who hasn’t
I’ve heard the same argument used to justify not hiring women (who might get pregnant), Muslims (who might request time for prayers), anyone with a protected characteristic (who might whinge about “rights”), or anyone with strong beliefs that might cause friction. It’s always disgusting and discriminatory.

DH and I only employ a small number of staff hence we need to rely on them. We get a lot of applicants whenever we hire though. I’m not going to virtue signal or pretend. As we usually have a wide choice, we pick someone that does not have any foreseeable health issues. When selecting someone to work with us, we really haven’t got the energy, patience or quite frankly inclination to deal with anyone who suffers from anxiety or other health problems that might add to our physical and mental work load. It sounds brutal but we want an easy life and can’t afford staff that might be off sick or unable to cope when we are super busy.

You need classes in am-dream - then treat a job interview as a performance
And keep up the performance every day for the next ten years or risk being sacked?

I’ve heard the same argument used to justify not hiring women (who might get pregnant), Muslims (who might request time for prayers), anyone with a protected characteristic (who might whinge about “rights”), or anyone with strong beliefs that might cause friction. It’s always disgusting and discriminatory.

Yep. The most brutally unpleasant, bullying, manipulative arsehole I have ever worked with has an immaculate sickness record. No (diagnosed) MH problems, barely a day's sick leave in years. She is dreadful and several people, me included, left the workplace because of her. Given that the place only employs a handful of people, that's impressive. She sees off customers and does the organisation's reputation locally no good at all. Sadly the manager cannot, or won't, see the issues. The woman is an efficient administrator, if you take out the bit where she's so fucking rude to people they don't want to deal with her.

Honestly, I'd take someone with social anxiety, who might need some sympathy and understanding and who in return would probably give that back, than that fucking monster any day. But her CV will look good and she will interview well. MH problems don't make you bad at a job. Lack of them won't make you good at it either.

If you don't disclose then I guess they will assume it's nerves
I was once offered a job because I was the best candidate and they thought I was just nervous at the interview. They subsequently sacked me after the first day when it became apparent that it wasn’t just interview nerves, that was my real everyday personality. I’d quit my previous job to work there so they basically left me unemployed and unable to claim benefits because I’d voluntarily left my previous job.

I have a physical disability and managed depression, and have suffered from serious stress in the past. I have had one day's sickness in 18 months (due to the physical disability). I received an Outstanding rating in my last appraisal and was promoted six months ago. My line manager is aware of my health conditions and supports me in managing them so that they have minimal adverse affect on my ability to work effectively. With their approval I've trained as a Mental Health First Aider in order to help support colleagues who might experience a mental health crisis at work, and my experiences have made me more understanding and empathetic of others' MH problems. I'm also naturally introverted although I have no problem talking to people, carrying out presentations or chairing meetings. I have a sociable 'work persona' which sees me through the day and then I recharge my batteries with some quiet time to myself each evening.

I do a lot of recruitment in my role and can honestly, hand on heart say that I don't discriminate against anyone who discloses MH issues. I've worked with some amazing people who have had a range of conditions (I think because I'm very open about my own MH, other people seem to open up to me so I get to know a lot of 'behind the scenes' information about colleagues' MH) so I know that living with a MH condition does not preclude you from being a valuable employee. It may mean I, as a manager, have to offer increased support but I see that as part of my job and my duty of care to my staff.

OP, I echo others who say there's a knack to performing well at interview. Perhaps look into some coaching? If you have another interview coming up I'd be happy for you to PM me and I'll try to offer some help from the other side of the table, as it were.

I’ve heard the same argument used to justify not hiring women (who might get pregnant), Muslims (who might request time for prayers), anyone with a protected characteristic (who might whinge about “rights”), or anyone with strong beliefs that might cause friction. It’s always disgusting and discriminatory.

it's not discriminatory not to willingly employ someone who will have a lot of absence and will impact on the rest of the team - who have their own issues to deal with at some point.

Everybody can get ill, injured or experience family situation. You try to keep it fair fore everybody. I wouldn't employ someone who insist to finish on the dot and refuse the idea of any overtime. If someone needs to leave early for a valid reason even for a longer period of time , we'll try to accommodate. We can't do that if we have given special rights to a newbie.

I have strongly religious muslims in my team, their private prayers in a private room are completely unnoticeable for anyone who doesn't know.

I employed my admin manager after he disclosed, at interview, he'd suffered anxiety and depression. It's a third sector organisation, and we're an disability positive employer.
Best decision I ever made - he's conscientious, attentive to detail, organised, and a dream to manage.
I err on the side of introversion - I need quiet to work, and don't enjoy large groups etc - but the true definition, in that I require alone time to recharge. I can easily speak to people, and hold my own at meetings etc. I don't enjoy extroverts hanging round my office or talking at me, but I'm more than happy to tell them to leave me be.
The only criteria I insist upon is that a person can do the job, and be an asset to the organisation.

What kind of jobs are you going for?

If you have to meet new people every day and you'd be as nervous as in the interview, then it's probably not the job for you.

If you're crunching numbers in an office, without little human interaction, then they are unreasonable.
Having said that, you may come across as unsure of yourself and employers may be afraid of hiring someone who is constantly asking for help or making mistakes.

It might actually be a good idea to disclose your social anxiety and work with the interviewers to reduce interview stress. For example by meeting them a few days before in a more informal environment.
But you could do that without disclosure by asking to know more about the job and asking to visit the place. Would that help with the interviews?

It would be illegal to discriminate against you if you declared it. I have hired people who have depression and given them support and time off when they need it.

Employers should have a well-being policy in place anyway.

Hate this stigma.

Anybody could be affected by mental health issues at any point in their lives. To all these "managers" saying they wouldn't employ someone, lets hope you never get ill.

You could hire the healthiest person in the world, nothing to say something won't develop over time. Especially in an environment where employers are doing nothing to help.

Educate yourselves FFS!

It really depends on the mental illness. There are some that are very manageable and shouldn’t prevent someone from working. On the other hand, my mother was very ill- regularly sectioned etc. No one sensible would have employed her and she wouldn’t have been able to hold down a job once her illness emerged. Mental illness is so wide ranging you can never make assumptions but quite often no-one talks about the most severe end.

I suppose it depends on whether they can do the job they were hired to do.

Also we had an employee with quite severe mental illness and he distressed other staff so that had to be taken into account.

That would require effort on the part of the employer for sure. The thing is that kind of illness where it impacts frequently is exactly why we have support for those not fit for work. In the same way some people physically can't work. We should absolutely take care of these people.

On the other hand, mental health issues are treatable and with the right support in place, a person suffering may be able to thrive in the workplace.

I simply wouldn't (and haven't) told the interviewer about any MH problems - they are mine to manage.

it's not discriminatory not to willingly employ someone who will have a lot of absence
So you think it’s ok not to employ a woman of a certain age in case she gets pregnant? Or a single mum who’ll be absent when her kids are sick? Or someone with a disability that requires ongoing treatment? Basically employers don’t want any inconvenience so they reject anyone who might cause issues. Anyone who has any difficulties whatsoever is seen as a liability. How are those people supposed to pay their bills if nobody will employ them?