2023-06-30 10:26:00
More than 150 Brabant social assistance recipients with psychological problems participated in a study in 2018, 2019 and early 2020. The setup was simple. Half of the participants – chosen by random draw – were informed about the possible consequences of discussing or not discussing their mental problems when looking for a job. This group was also made to think about whom and at what time they should broach such a subject.
The other half did not receive those tips and information. What seems? Of the first group, twice as many people found a job, which they still had a year later. The research thus shows that not the psychological problems themselves, but how you talk about them, at what time and with whom, determines the chance of a job.
The researcher herself calls the outcome ‘spectacular’, especially since the majority of the participants had been on welfare for a year or more. “And we know that the longer someone is on welfare, the more difficult it is to find work,” says Kim Janssens, who has now obtained her PhD and who works as a senior researcher at Tranzo, a research institute that is part of Tilburg University.
Tell or hide
She discovered that many people on social assistance had their own convictions about what you should and should not say during a job interview. “Some think, for example, that you should say it immediately if you have or have had psychological problems, because otherwise you will withhold or conceal information. Others, on the contrary, concealed everything, but as a result missed out on the necessary work adjustment or understanding from the employer,” she says.
Janssens also noticed that many people don’t think much about what they are going to say in advance when they get a question about why they have a gap in their CV. “If you don’t know what you’re going to say, it’s easier to blurt out something that might not be very smart in a first conversation, or even too personal to share with an employer.”
The group that was selected for the experiment received a booklet, a so-called decision aid, containing questions they could ask themselves. That started as simple as: what are the benefits of telling? Because such questions are quite difficult to answer, all kinds of possible answers were shown. Such as a greater chance of understanding and support from colleagues. Disadvantages were also mentioned: an employer may not entrust you with certain responsibilities and colleagues may treat you differently.
The tips
At the same time, the job seekers held talks with municipal reintegration counselors who help them find a job. Thirty supervisors were specially trained for the study to be able to hold discussions about this. Both the experimental group and the control group regularly completed questionnaires about the findings for a year.
One of the tips given to the group that participated in the experiment is that it is often not very convenient to start discussing a diagnosis during an initial conversation. “Research shows that someone with autism, for example, should not say ‘I have autism’ but ‘I need clarity about which tasks I have to perform in a day’. Then employers know what someone needs and they are not deterred by the prejudices they may have about people with autism,” says Evelien Brouwers, professor by special appointment of Mental Health and Sustainable Employability. She supervised Janssens during her research.
Jessica Rits fell out of work with severe depression. Returning to the workplace was quite difficult. Image Ton Toemen
Jessica Rits (46) dropped out due to severe depression. ‘When I came back, I was treated differently’
She’s in her early thirties and things haven’t been going very well for a while. Until Jessica Rits comes home in 2009 with severe depression. She must be admitted to a mental health institution. “That was so drastic that I had the feeling that I had to share my diagnosis with my employer, I couldn’t say: dude, I have a flu,” she says.
After five months things are getting better. She can slowly resume her work with the guidance of a psychologist. “I was super happy. But the atmosphere was different in the office. Some colleagues I had worked with for nine years tried to avoid me. They took a different route, stopped talking to me.”
She confronted one of them, with whom she always had good contact before her depression. “She said she didn’t know what to say to me. She was afraid asking questions would make things worse. Then I said: ‘I should have told you that then’. Anything is better than ignoring someone.”
In retrospect, she would have preferred not to share her diagnosis, says Rits. “The stigma associated with mental illness is sometimes even worse than the symptoms themselves. While I felt better, they mainly saw my illness and not who I am.” Somehow she understands that. “People quickly form an image in their head based on what they have seen in the news about people with mental problems, for example. But those are usually not positive messages and they often do not correspond to reality,” she explains.
Rits now has his own company. She provides training and courses to employers on how to break the stigma of mental illness. Her tip? Be empathetic and ask questions. “On my return I had to draw up a document with how I was going to monitor my limits and how I was going to measure that. Very patronizing. A good employer not only thinks ‘I must limit the risk of failure’, but also: ‘I want to know how my people are doing and what they themselves need’.”
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