Dilemma
In 2022, 26 percent of adults (18 to 75 years) had one or more mental health conditions, according to research by the Trimbos Institute. This mainly concerned anxiety and mood disorders (15 and 10 percent respectively). When you apply for a job, should you be open about it?
Not necessarily
In 2017, a team led by professor Evelien Brouwers from Tilburg University investigated the advantages and disadvantages of openness about psychological complaints in the workplace.
Employees mainly mentioned advantages: you can be more yourself, the relationship with colleagues improves and you can more easily ask for work adjustments. HR employees were also very positive. However, they had a hidden agenda: if people with psychological complaints were open about this, human resources could reduce organizational risks by rejecting them from job applications, offering them shorter contracts or not extending their contracts.
Brouwers: “Then I thought: what is going on here? Employees apparently underestimate the negative career consequences of being open about psychological complaints and the stigma attached to it. Could that perhaps be the reason why people with psychological problems often cannot find work?”
Follow-up research from 2021 by Kim Janssens from the same university confirmed the painful discrepancy between employee and employer motives in this area. Janssens: “64 percent of Dutch managers said they would rather not hire someone with psychological problems, and 30 percent would not even do so if someone had ever had psychological problems in the past, even if they had disappeared.”
But how?
Does this mean that you have to keep your lips tight at work if you have ‘something psychological’?
“It all depends,” says Brouwers. “The most important thing is to think about it carefully.”
How great the effect this can be was shown by other research by Janssens, in which 153 job seekers with psychological complaints were given a decision aid brochure about the advantages and disadvantages of openness. Janssens: “It subsequently turned out that these people found paid work twice as often as a control group, and had retained that job twice as often after a year.”
Brouwers: “These research results show that for many participants the reason why they were unable to find and keep a job was not psychological problems, but rather the communication about them.”
What did people learn from the decision aid? Janssens: “Especially that they have a choice. Most had never realized that. They tended to behave during job applications as they did in normal life. For some this meant being an open book, for others it meant not disclosing anything about it. This decision aid made people think: what do I actually want? What would work best for me? Some then decided not to be open, others the opposite: people realized that openness could actually help them.”
According to Janssens, a general rule can be given: “If your complaints do not affect your work, it is better to exercise restraint.”
According to Brouwers, it is especially important to think carefully about your own specific situation: “Who do you have in front of you, who do you trust, why do you want to be open or not and what is the best way to do that?”
Timing is of great importance, says Brouwers: “If you are considering talking about it, wait if possible until you have shown what you can do and who you are. And even then you don’t have to inform everyone. For example, only talk about it with people you trust and who can help you, such as a manager or company doctor.”
Moreover, don’t just tell everything: “Be cautious with medical information, because diagnoses can be subject to all kinds of prejudices. Emphasize what you need to do your job well.”
That can also mean total openness. “I remember a man who was prone to psychosis who said: I am so stressed if I cannot say it, that I would rather be open about it.”
In any case, according to Brouwers, it is good to show that you understand the employer’s position by explaining what you will do yourself to achieve a good outcome. And finally, you need to prepare your message well: “Talk about it with people you trust, such as a coach or friends.”
So
Thoughtless and uncompromising openness about psychological complaints can unnecessarily and unfairly damage your career. You are certainly not obliged to tell about it. It is wise to think about the working conditions that help you develop your talents. Don’t just share your diagnosis, and above all tell us what you need. An intelligent employer will want to know that, without necessarily needing to hear all the details.