Job Searching and Mental Illness

By Ifeanyi Olele, DO

Genesis Psychiatric Solutions

. https://www.genesispsychiatricsolutions.com/

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Job Searching and Mental Illness

When most people are searching for jobs, they tend to look for the one that has the best salary. This is important for most people because this creates opportunities to pay bills and relieve financial stressors. Job seekers who have mental illness tend to overlook the situations that offer the best support for their specific situations. It is important to keep in mind that when dealing with mental health issues, all kinds of factors and situations can come up unexpectedly. If you are job seeking and you have a mental illness, you want to be in an environment that is suitable and supportive to you.

Here are some questions and quick tips to keep in mind that can benefit your workplace mental health:

Does the job offer an employee assistance program?

How supportive is the human resource department?

How do staff members support each other?

How much sick leave does a job offer, in case you have episodic flare ups?

Will you be able to be accommodated for your mental health needs?

Are there telework opportunities?

What is the culture in how bosses and employees treat each other?

Does the boss have an open door policy? Will you be able to talk to your boss about your problems and are they approachable? You don’t want a boss that can easily trigger you.

Observe if the job has a lot of high turnovers. That’s a clue into how the business is run. High turnover may mean that people do not like the job. Not every job that has high turnover is bad, but it may not be the best place for you.

It can also be very beneficial to observe if people stay in jobs for a long period of time.

Look into the different kinds of activities that employees do together such as lunch breaks or walk breaks around the facility. Subtle clues such as staff celebrating other coworkers’ milestones such as birthday parties, bridal showers and baby showers give great insight into the work environment you can expect when joining a new team or office.

Remember, you can spend most of your day at work. You want to be working in an environment that is suitable for your situation. So try to pick the job that suits your mental health needs the best.