Disclosing MH in the workplace????

@Former-Member on the whole I've found it better to be transparent with management especially if needing time for appointments. It would have been easier to have been transparent with colleagues too although not all respond positively. What didn't work was being selective with who knew as I felt uncomfortable when my MH status was disclosed to others without my permission. Feeling a need for privacy and fearing or actually experiencing stigma are very personal and everyone will reach different decisions re disclosing depending on circumstances and what feels right with the stage of their health journey. I've worked with people who were offhand or contemptuous but never outright abusive. But I should also say that I rarely felt accepted or supported with my MH issues, unlike the times I had visible physical impairments or illnesses.

@Dimity thanks for sharing and your experience - I would love to be transparent and see where it goes, but did you wait till you proved you could do the job before disclosing? And how long did you wait - I feel as though it would be a stab in the dark as to what the outcome would be

Hi @MDT thanks for responding I will try to gauge out the workers, but I'm thinking of keeping it to myself as suggested by psych - what's a 50/50 could probably be better odds if I stay quiet - I dunno still

@Former-MemberI have schizoaffective disopolar/ bipolar I and I would tell the boss even though that it might lead a degative reactioon. i

@Clawde Hey hunny. How are you going? I have booking with cardiologist. Wishing you a super pea day

Hi @Former-Member 🙂

I thought I'd reach out to share one of the Topic Tuesday's we had on the forums this year, talking about employment. A big part of the discussion was disclosure of mental health in the workplace, and there are lots of great perspectives. Here is the link Re: Topic Tuesday // Employment and Mental Health // Tues 8th June, 7:00-8:30PM AEST

Hope this is a helpful resource 🙂

Hey there @Former-Member

I think this is an important question – how much of our mental health story do we share in the workplace, and what are the things that make us feel safe to share?

Disclosing your mental health in the workplace, for me, is context dependent. I've had experiences in the past where I've shared and received a disappointing response from colleagues, but I've also been fortunate to have worked in spaces where I've been more open about some of my mental health issues and it's been wonderfully supportive. On the whole I tend to disclose if I feel safe, comfortable and it's helpful for me to do so.

@Former-Member have you had a particular experience you'd like to share, or things that have/haven't worked for you in the past when disclosing mental health in the workplace?

I had the experience where I disclosed my mental health condition in the workplace. I felt that my manager had his own issues going on at the time and this lead to me being performance managed. I eventually got transferred to another less demanding role but they only extended my contract for 6 months at a time and the insecurity of employment created unnecessary anxiety for me. I ended up leaving the organisation. On the flip side I knew a employee with a diagnosis of Bipolar which she disclosed to the employer. She had a long history of employment with the organisation and was quite competent in her role. She seemed to be respected by her peers and she did not seem to have any issues. However, she had a permanent role. I find it difficult these days with insecure employment as I believe i do a good job in my profession but the insecurity feeds into the mental health challenges i experience and creates unnecessary anxiety. Any way good luck and hopefully my experience helps you remain in employment as it is a good thing to have a job.