Managing an employee with BPD

[ColdstreamTuckett]

I have started managing a small office and one of my colleagues disclosed to me that she has BPD.(Borderline Personality Disorder) It was in the context of a more general discussion about how the office has been running previously (very chaotically) and I made a comment about preventative mental health- she thought I might already know something. Anyway- that's just to say I wasn't prompting and there has been nothing in the workplace that could have possibly alerted me to any difficulties. She's friendly, does what needs to be done when asked and is able to work well to a deadline.

Question is, how can I support her in the workplace? I did a bit of a google research, but those articles are very much about managing problem behaviour and really sound like performance management. I want to know what would actually help.

Ask her?

She may not want you to do anything. Or she may be happy to talk about whether it affects her work or not.

But really, until there's a work issue, or she comes to you for support then I don't see that you should do anything.

Educating yourself using reputable sources, e.g. Mind may be useful.

That's fair. Thanks Flimp. I'll just follow her lead I guess.

She's friendly, does what needs to be done when asked and is able to work well to a deadline.

It sounds as if she is a solid employee, and as if you do not need to do anything specific for the time being.

Ive got BPD . Worked same place for 15 years. I manage to keep my shit together at work more than anywhere else and the most I've had to do was have a little cry in the toilets. Not saying it's not hard, yday I was in a right state internally but no one would have known. I wouldn't want anyone trying to help me unless I specifically asked.

Worst thing to do is to look for info online. So many stigmatising sites about what monsters we are...

I'd avoid looking online. Even reputable sources make BPD sound so negative, that it might be hard to view her as positively. Some of those sites make it sound like all people with BPD are manipulative and self-centred.

She sounds great - I'd maybe just wait for a quiet moment at some point and say that if there's anything she thinks it'd be helpful for you to know, your door is open. And also mention your high opinion of her :)

Yes some stuff I read online really upsets me . I've read that we are compulsive liers which is the total opposite of me .

I specialise in reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities (autism though not mental health) but very basic things you can do are:
Regular supervision - it doesn't have to be formal but a fortnightly/monthly sit down to ensure she is coping with her workload and in the office in general.

Encouraging her to take 5minutes when she needs it- if she's overly anxious she can get up and clear her head with fresh air. This means hopefully becoming overwhelmed and crying in the toilets will be avoided

Always put instructions/important information in writing because if we're stressed it can be harder to remember everything and she can go back and process it later

If absenteeism is a problem allow a bigger threshold of acceptability.

Ensure workload is reasonable. I would imagine if on a high there may be a tendency to take everything on but this could be really damaging if she's on a low and then can't manage it. I would think it could impound her feelings of worthlessness.

Ensure the office is inclusive, avoid cliques forming

Remember that you are there to support her in her employment, not her personal life.

Argh! My bullet points didn't work on my phone!