Job seeking with a history of depression and stress

Raksha

I've just been made redundant from a job I loved. Some of the decisions the boss made, and issues at home, led to increased stress levels and me needing treatment for depression. I returned to work with some adjustments and coped fairly well.

I believe, if asked, I should mention this on an application form, but how might this effect my job seeking in the future?

Googlewhacker

Raksha wrote: »

I've just been made redundant from a job I loved. Some of the decisions the boss made, and issues at home, led to increased stress levels and me needing treatment for depression. I returned to work with some adjustments and coped fairly well.

I believe, if asked, I should mention this on an application form, but how might this effect my job seeking in the future?

Under new rules they can only ask before offering the job specific questions as to abscenses etc.

Ie for a manual lifting job. 'Have you ever suffered from back problems?' would be ok but 'have you ever had cancer?' would not.

They can make you do a health questionnaire after the job interview though and if you fail to inform them about any problems it could lead you to more problems in the future.

I personally would like the view from SarEl or Lazy Daisy regarding 'stress' and 'depression' because I would have thought an employer would be ok asking about this before the interview because Stress and Depression can strike at anytime and in any job and as such be specific to any job.

ellie101

I had a couple of weeks off with stress in a job a few years ago. My boss was difficult to work with but I was also trying to look after my mother at the time but finding it emotionally hard as she was terminally ill and not handling treatment to keep her stable at that point.

I then applied for a job the year after, and they asked for how much time I'd had off. I told them, and put a paragraph explaining. I didn't say anything about my boss or company at all, as didn't want to be negative about them, I said I was working long hours and found it hard at the time to balance this against travelling between cities to take care of my terminally ill mother. I did say that previously my "sickness record" had been good, however that now I was aware of techniques/methods to help me manage stress better.

I got offered the job, but didn't take it for various reasons, so not sure if their HR would have asked for more details/medical report.

I think it's difficult as some companies may not employ you, however I found that not to be the case. I just tried not to blame my boss/company at the time.

I've had another friend who'd had depression, but many years before. She was honest about it when asked, however she did have to provide a medical report before starting the job.

You can get jobs (I think) with time off, but I guess there will be some companies that won't take a chance. I'd go for it but just be honest, and ask a friend to look through it. IMHO it's not worth saying your boss made the wrong decisions (even if it was partly their fault) unless it's phrased very carefully.

Good luck.

ellie101

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Under new rules they can only ask before offering the job specific questions as to abscenses etc.

.

Ah, I didn't know that. I think I just went and told them. They had a section in my application asking how many days I'd had off sick, so explained there and then.

I think you are right though... better to wait until the job offer.

Googlewhacker

ellie101 wrote: »

Ah, I didn't know that. I think I just went and told them. They had a section in my application asking how many days I'd had off sick, so explained there and then.

I think you are right though... better to wait until the job offer.

It only changed October 1st this year so you prob applied before then

bristol_pilot

Under the new rules they can't ask you health related questions at application stage, so why volunteer negative information? Being off sick for stress and depression (which many HR folk think equates to workshy) is just about as negative as you can get. If asked for a reason for redundancy say 'business restructuring and closure' and emphasise that large numbers went. There has been a recession and this will probably not count against you. In the world of HR sickness is never genuine and you will have to get past at least one HR bod to get the job.

Raksha

bristol_pilot wrote: »

Under the new rules they can't ask you health related questions at application stage, so why volunteer negative information? Being off sick for stress and depression (which many HR folk think equates to workshy) is just about as negative as you can get. If asked for a reason for redundancy say 'business restructuring and closure' and emphasise that large numbers went. There has been a recession and this will probably not count against you. In the world of HR sickness is never genuine and you will have to get past at least one HR bod to get the job.

Well thanks so much for that boost Bristol pilot - just what I needed to hear (not!)

Not sure why I'd need to give a reason for redundancy, surely the term explains itself. As for large numbers going - yeh - 50% of the employees, that's one - me! I got this job, and my last one without going anywhere near an 'HR bod' - small companies (which is where I feel most comfortable) don't tend to have them.

Googlewhacker

bristol_pilot wrote: »

Under the new rules they can't ask you health related questions at application stage, so why volunteer negative information? Being off sick for stress and depression (which many HR folk think equates to workshy) is just about as negative as you can get. If asked for a reason for redundancy say 'business restructuring and closure' and emphasise that large numbers went. There has been a recession and this will probably not count against you. In the world of HR sickness is never genuine and you will have to get past at least one HR bod to get the job.

They can ask job related health questions.

bristol_pilot

Because 'redundancy' CAN be a euphamism for sacked for poor performance, especially in small companies.

(Yes, they can ask job-related health questions. But no longer can companies simply ask how many days off sick in the last two years then bin everyone with a non-zero response).

Googlewhacker

bristol_pilot wrote: »

Under the new rules they can't ask you health related questions at application stage.

Just wondered why you said this then?

ellie101

bristol_pilot wrote: »

Because 'redundancy' CAN be a euphamism for sacked for poor performance, especially in small companies.

(Yes, they can ask job-related health questions. But no longer can companies simply ask how many days off sick in the last two years then bin everyone with a non-zero response).

I was made redundant 6 months after taking time off for stress.

But I had to beg for it at a time of mass redundancies throughout the company. I asked to be put forward, and if I hadn't gone then it would have been a year later anyway, however they did want me to stay for a while longer as I was a good employee. Being made redundant was NOTHING to do with my time off ill. Can't go into too much detail as I signed a compromise agreement. They wanted me to stay regardless.

And I don't think that's why the OP was made redundant, they came back and performed okay by the sounds of it.