Career Chat // How to survive a new job // Friday, 23 Sep. 12pm AEST

Hi and welcome to today's forum and thanks @NikNik for the intro.

Today's forum is going to be about surviving your new job - yes, you've been to the interview you've been fortunate enough to gain employment and now it's those first few weeks - what are you going to put in place to make sure you not only stick with this new job but that you thrive in it? ...

You may or may not have disclosed your mental illness, but whether you do or you don't it's still something you need to deal with personally... in addition to settling into your new job .

What does that look like for you ?

Do you have a mental health plan in place so your boss knows that you will need time out during the day or a certain number of breaks ?

Is a plan like this realistic ? Is it commonplace ?

If you have already been in this position we would love to hear from you and we would love for you to share your experiences of starting a new job when you have other health issues to consider..

What were your expectations from your co-workers and from yourself ... Did you give yourself enough time to settle in?

Looking forward to discovering more about how to survive those first few weeks at a job in today's forum ...

Some of the challenges for those of us returning to work with a mental illness may include:

- a lack of understanding and

– stigma and discrimination around mental health at the new workplace

Workplaces in which staff are unfamiliar with mental illness can make wrong assumptions about the risk of a relapse, or believe that a diagnosis means sufferers are a danger to themselves or others.

In a recent report ... 9/10 MI consumers reported that they encountered negativity and stigma at work. Note that this may not be the case for your new workplace but even if it's not it's important to keep these in mind ... Below are some of the key issues you may have to face ... adapted from an article in the Guardian online:

Tackling stigma

Because symptoms of mental illnesses can be different for different people, it's important to work with your employer on what sort of adjustments will be helpful to you.

For example, having your own office might be important for one person but isolating for another.

Developing a recovery plan can help managers better understand when an employee is becoming unwell and allows them to intervene on a practical level.

Painting a picture of what sort of person you are and explaining to your manager how to recognise symptoms of illness means they can then offer concrete help – without being condescending.

Talking to your manager and colleagues
A general lack of knowledge around mental health can mean that people are often frightened to address it – and means that you can feel "forgotten" while you're away.

Depending on the attitudes in your workplace, you might be ignored completely or only get official-type emails from your manager, who is afraid of saying the wrong thing or who doesn't want to get into hot water with the Equality Act.

Staying in contact with your manager and close colleagues (even if via email) can help prepare the ground for your return-to-work meeting, when you'll be able to discuss a phased return and adjustments face-to-face.

Learn as much as you can
Perceptions of mental illness vary.

While bipolar is portrayed in the media as an illness typically suffered by "creatives", depression is often seen as the "acceptable face", says Sue Sibbald, who works with the NHS in Sheffield, training staff and people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BDP).

Being able to share what your diagnosis means can help to dispel myths and reduce stigma, she says.

Researching your illness and recovery options is also important when there's such huge disparity in the amount of support offered from one NHS trust to another. If yours has limited provision, you can buy therapy if you can afford it, says Charlotte.

She also mentions mental health "recovery colleges" are starting up, with course catalogues offering help on how to improve through meditationand art therapy, or even on applying and interviewing for jobs. Check your NHS Trust website for details.

Know your rights
Not all employers are up-to-date with legislation or flexible enough to agree to reasonable adjustments, so make sure you know whether your condition is classed as a disability under the 2010 Equality Act.

Your union can be an invaluable source of help in liaising with your employer or HR department, and advising you on your rights. In addition, union reps can sit in on meetings with your employer and check that you aren't being managed down or out.

Get emotional and practical support
Being off work due to mental illness can make you feel isolated and vulnerable, so getting emotional and practical support helps with recovery.

Charities such as Mind, Rethink and SANE offer a range of support and advice (including dealing with benefit questions), while Twitter is also a great way to connect with others in the same situation.

For example, Sue set up the weekly #BPDChat, enabling people to share experiences and support. Blogs are another source of information and support.

Ease yourself back into work
Because having a mental health condition is tiring and your energy levels will be lower, go back to work slowly with a phased return, says Sue.

You might also find that volunteering for one day a week can help to rebuild confidence. Freelance work can also give you more flexibility if medication and treatment is causing side-effects, advises Charlotte.

This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more content and advice like this direct to your inbox, sign up for our weekly update and careers ebook.

So we know that finding a job is only half the battle once we are in the workplace there are a few challenges that we need to bare in mind.

In the last post we covered those ...

But what about our own personal challenges?

... if we suffer from anxiety are we likely to be able to control that anxiety given the heightened state we are in? ...

what about if depression is triggered by situations that can be overwhelming? Can we read the signs When we're in a work situation?

On this forum I've mentioned that I run a program for people who are looking for work but really the aim of the program is to help set up the participants so that once they do find work they have a toolbox that is tailored to their specific MI needs

... they can THEN use to the toolbox to manage their work life and to manage their new found job if in fact it does pose some challenges to them.

Some of the things that we cover in the program are

1... We try getting a very strong handle on exactly what it is that you need ...

I know that might sound obvious but some participants really just arent fully aware of their mental health needs.

So we ask things like .... what is it feel like for you to be anxious? how can you tell when you may be lapsing into an episode of depression? what are your triggers? what are your beliefs and thoughts when you're unwell? ...

When you get into the sort of questioning, the answers provided you with an understanding of your needs .

Unfortunately your GP or your psychiatrist often doesn't go into this area and yes you may be medicated but you might be lacking tailored personal information and a deeper understanding of your own mental health needs ...

So perhaps one of the first steps to helping you survive those first few weeks of work is to have a deep understanding of what it is that keeps you on an even keel all keeps you feeling good and furthermore what encourages you to feel better and what encourages you to keep growing and thriving.

The next thing we do in the program is explore self confidence and we look at techniques to develop your self-confidence .

What I have found is that it's often people's negative thoughts that hold them back . And often it's not their own thoughts it's the thoughts put in their minds .... by other people !!!

Negative people, negative experiences seem to leach into the present time and suddenly when you're in a new job and a situation arises those negative thoughts come flooding back .

The next thing we do is look at ourselves in terms of your workmates and we go through a system of discovering how people's personalities as sometimes, and more often than not, the issue rather than how they feel about us on a personal level .

So for example a person who has the type of personality which gets really irritated when people make small mistakes - usually (unfortunately) a boss type- who wants things done and they want it done now ....!

If we're feeling a bit vulnerable and a bit self conscious, lacking in self confidence we might take that quite personally and any incident reduces our confidence further ...

But if we understand that there are signs to look out for which alert you to the fact that this person is a 'short fuse' type, you are then in a better position not to take things personally ...

Can you think of any other important elements that should be included within this type of program to help you survive the first few weeks of work ?

Have you ever been on a program that gives you tools for survival either in the world of work or just personally ?

What about when your a really reactive person @Renstar. I'm not so good at hiding what I'm thinking/feeling I'm worried that this will impact my ability to do my job. How do you survive when you're a heart on your sleeve kind of person?

Hi @Renstar. I'm not sure if you've covered it yet but was wondering if you've done a session on becoming job ready. As in how do you know you are ok to re enter or in my case enter the workforce? What do you need to have under control to start the whole process of looking for work? Sorry for the lots of questions which are still in the future but I guess wouldn't hurt to get my head around.

Hi @Former-Member Great to hear from you

No problem with all the questions ! That's What I'm here for

To answer your first question what do you do when you're the sort of person who reacts quite quickly? ... A reactive person as you say.

Well I think the first step is recognising that you are because usually people who are quite reactive tend to blame everybody else yet once you start realising hey I probably could have reacted less then you're onto something ...

I would say first of all start to think about when it is that you do react ... generally people react out of fear,

there is an underlying fear that is TRIGGERED and of course the reaction follows.

In these cases I often find CBT is very helpful ... With CBT you're trying to first of all figure out what am I thinking? then ... what's it doing to me behaviourally? .... and what can I do about it ?

Try to get a very clear understanding of what it is that causes your reaction.

So generally it will be two or three things that really get under your skin .... Then get a really good handle on what those two or three things really are and then either get some help to understand what the fear is that's related to those things or journal and figure it out for yourself ... use your own resources to get to the bottom of it

If you look deep and find it's not really FEAR that is at the base of it ...

It might be that you've seen others/ parents behaving this way in which case it's habitual and there really isn't so much fear as habit which needs to be replaced by other behaviour.

Once you get a really good handle on the triggers to why you are reactive then you'll be able to consciously put things into place ( quite often with help )

I'm not saying it will be easy initially but with good support and plenty of encouragement you should be able to do it and quite well too ...

How do I know when I'm ready for work ... What a great question

I would say generally speaking you know you're ready for work when you can go for long periods out and about in the world .... People in acute episodes of mental illness generally are confined to either their own space or very few spaces whereas when you are getting better you are keen and able to interact with others and the world at large .

I believe that's a very good indicator that you might well be ready to step back into the world of work - Having said that there's much more to do !

Begin by finding good support either via a career counsellor a job service network agency whom you trust and who really does work for you or begin to see a counsellor ...mostly for the period of time when you're thinking about going back into work .

The elements you want to be developing will be; confidence, self-esteem, your toolbox for anxiety or depression and an understanding of personalities at work .... and finally your own barriers and career goals ...

Plus ... Your actual capacity, for example if you take medication - what time dis it I generally kick in ... normally you would only begin to work after that time so you may be required to do shift work or part time hours at least initially ...

These are just guidelines to get you started @Former-Member... I hope they help !

Thanks heaps @Renstar.

You answered my questions well. Especially the second one. I guess having isolated myself so much it's even hard to know what I'll be reactive to yet as I don't have many interactions in the real world yet. My reactivity tends to be turned inwards, I implode. You have definately helped with me understanding what I need to aim for before I take the next step. I'm obviously not close yet. But even that has taken some pressure off. Thanks again💜😊

Hey thanks @Former-Member I'm so pleased you were able to get some answers ...

I hope you realise that you are not alone ... and the solutions are not out of your reach ...!!!

I think one of the issues faced by people with mental illness is this feeling that they need to get back into work quickly and possibly before they are ready

What you have identified is that you're not quite ready and you've still got work to do and I believe that will hold you in good stead when you do eventually get back into the workforce

Don't let anyone coerce you and don't feel pressured, take your time .... you'll be a better employee and you are more likely to remain working ...

Mainly remember you don't have to do this alone ... There are many agencies/ organisations out there available to support you in your journey back to work

Are you in touch with any of those agencies ?