Is it ever a good idea to tell your employer about your poor mental health

[gabsdot45]

I currently work in a job where I work alone all the time . It's a door to door type thing but I'm not selling anything and It's a government job so I can't really be fired however badly I perform. I've been doing this job for 7 years and I'm really fed up of it and have been looking for a new job for months now but with no luck.
I'm also starting to slip into depression. Not job related, I think it's probable the menopause. I've had a particularly bad week this week. This evening I drove to the area I was due to work in and I couldn't get out of the car. I felt as if i'd have a panic attack.
Tomorrow I'm meeting my supervisor for my 6 monthly review mtg.
Should I tell her how I've been feeling. She's about 10 years older that me so might be sympathetic about the menopause thing but she's also under pressure from her higher-ups to get better results.
Is it ever a good idea to tell your employer about poor mental health

No.

IME, no. Sorry.

It's good that you don't think it's work related though. I suggest maybe get someone else to look at your CV and help you find another job. Also, you could see a counsellor about your mental health, or your GP about the menopause. I wouldn't even tell my GP that I was suffering from 'mental health' issues because all job apps seem to need a health questionnaire these days. I would go with suspected menopause symptoms though, which could lead to a discussion about mood. I wish it was not like this.

Not always. My manager (primary care NHS) is very pro being open about mental health issues. She speaks openly about herself and that she has therapy, and that has led others to be much more open. People take much less time off for mental health reasons now because it's very supportive. But given my previous roles, this is rare.

There is only a point in telling your employer if you think they might be able to do something to help - eg making a temporary adjustment to your working patterns, getting in some support from occupational health. Otherwise no.

As someone who works in financial services I could be rich if I was given a fiver every time I heard some careerist bod here say “we need to talk about mental health”. Yep, we can do extravaganza days where visiting speakers come in, and we can all pay lip service, but come out with a real issue? You’re parcelled off into the cold hands of HR and instead of it being a health issue, it becomes a question mark over “character”

And this is the fundamental crux as to why I agree with previous posters that speaking about ones mental health should be done with caution.

There are too many career warrior types, silent and not so silent bullies, who see ill health as weakness, depression as a character flaw, and they’ll make it uncomfortable for you because you’re no longer helping them hit their end of year targets

We have a long way to go before people can truly be open in my sector - you almost need to learn how to PR your health and write your own narrative before going before a senior bod

Do they provide any Employee Assistance Programmes? If your workplace has a counselling service for employees then you can usually just refer yourself and everything is confidential.

I ended up over-worked on one of my pervious jobs. Doing 12 hours days for months on end in shift work with very little sleep. Ended up with a depression. When I recovered I got the "depression is all about perspective" speech.
Sure, if only a "perspective" could compensate for the basics such as enought time and rest to deal with long and stressul day.

Glad I left that job.

Saying you're bored which is not bringing out your best work should be reasonable. A good boss will work with you on CPD and finding a way for you to continue at same organisation but in a different more suitable role.

I would feel vulnerable rather than supported if I told line manager about my mental health problem. I guess it works for some... has been raised on MN & on TV that somehow employers should be more supportive of menopausers (personally I'd rather quit my job than have that become part of my employee profile).

What would be your purpose on telling her?

Are you no longer able to perform the role (panic attack) and need to take sick leave? Do they supply resources to help you?

If neither of these apply then telling her just because you want sympathy is not a good idea. There are other resources you can offload onto, from the Samaritans to mumsnet.

no

Thanks everyone. Good advice.

Depends on what you mean by mental health, it's become a byword for the normal downs in life , whereas if you have a diagnosed mental health condition then telling your employer you need reasonable adaptations is fine and protected under discrimination legislation. I experienced an employee announce that they "needed a mental health day" mental health cannot be fixed with a day off, if you are tired that's what annual leave is for. Those of us who have or have loved ones with serious diagnosed conditions can find problems are being dismissed by employers because ..... was fine after a day off, took a yoga course etc. You may have a diagnosis in which case I apologise but being peri menopausal myself I know what it feels like and it's not an employer issue unless you are speaking to them as a friend

I have had a very positive experience telling my employer, it's not doom and gloom everywhere

Same here. I actually told my employer at interview that I suffered depression and anxiety and was totally upfront with him from day one and they've never been anything but supportive.

I haven't needed to, but I absolutely would tell my boss if my MH was affecting my work (either directly through lack of focus or indirectly through having to take time off for appts).

My work has always been my constant during difficult times and it would be a personal "failure" if my personal life started to impinge in my professional life. But this is my issue not one my employer has ever given me reason to be concerned about.

I've found in local authority/public sector jobs that they are very supportive of mental ill health as organisations. Individual managers and team members are varied, as per the normal range of other humans, but government organisation HR tries to make sure they do the right thing according to the law in supporting mental ill health.

Depends where you work. Personally with my team I want to know so I can support them and make necessary adjustments to help. Be that working from home when the office feels overwhelming, referral to Occ Health, support with work load or even just so I know that if their work isn't up to its usual standard, there's a reason behind that. If I don't know I can't help and I am a big believer that if I can alleviate some of the anxiety and fear that having MH problems in the work place can bring, it will help my team member(s) recover more effectively. It's to my benefit in both the long and short term. I dislike the attitude and ignorance of some places that compound the taboo around mental health issues and fuel the stigma. It is perfectly possible to be an effective member of the work force while suffering from MH issues. Work and routine can act as a life-ring of stability and be essential to recovery for some people.

I second checking to see if you have employee assistance. They are very good, in my experience

I was lucky and was able to be open about my minor breakdown / acute anxiety episode. Firmly believe that this should always be the case.

I had combination of nightmare toxic boss and what I later discovered was both menopause (I'd been on the Pill so symptoms had been masked until I came off) and massively low thyroid. So I felt like I was hanging on by my fingernails. All the advice I got from people in my industry was 'suck it up'. And I suspect that was the safest option. I did get some flexible working concessions saying my environment was 'distracting' and talked a little bit about ways to manage my stress levels. So there may be ways to talk about it in a not too disempowering way...

I work for a local authority, and they were brilliant when I spoke to them. I wasn't my job that was exacerbating the problem but there was an impact on me that was noticeable and i prefer to be upfront with people.

I personally wouldn’t raise it tomorrow.

But I WOULD think whether there’s anything you could ask for that might make you feel bit better, and then ask for that but spin it in a positive light for your boss...just to make things a bit more bearable while you look for something different.

e.g: maybe working towards new qualifications would give you more interest and motivation, plus bonus cv points in your job search? Ask boss to support with course fees and/or study leave, because career progression...advantages for the dept...blah blah

Or could you ask for some team projects from time to time so you’re not always working alone? I think it’s perfectly ok to mention that you’d like opportunities for a bit more team interaction, it’s really hard working alone all the time.

Don’t know if you’re full-time or part time, but could you afford to drop a day p/w and would they consider it. Extra time for job applications, having a lay in, a 4 day week would make a world of difference (I wish).

Etc

So if there’s anything you can think of that you could change that would gee you up a bit, ask for that. But spin it in a positive way for employer if you can.

Any of the above would just be a sticking plaster to cheer you up while you look for a new job.

That’s what I’d do. Good luck, hope you feel better soon

Argh, dammit, I’ve just realised that your meeting was this morning , so I was no help at all. Sorry.

How did it go?