Hey everybody.
Today I want to talk with you about mental health in the workplace.
How do we get the help that we need?
So like I said,
Today I want to talk with you about mental health and the workplace.
I get tons of questions every day about this sort of thing.
What do I do if I'm going in for a job interview and they ask about gaps in my employment.
How do I tell HR or my boss I need time off because I'm really having a hard time.
What if I have to go into treatment.
The questions are endless.
And I know that there is a lot of stress around this.
Because number one,
Most of us don't want to lose our jobs.
Because financially that's really stressful.
And number two,
We really need to get the help we need.
And get the support.
And that could mean that we need to leave work for a period of time.
Now I made some notes,
So I don't forget all of the things that I have looked up for you guys.
So the first thing that I mentioned in my notes,
Is that you need to know it's up to you what you share.
What you say.
How much you tell them.
I always tell my clients that if they have me come to their,
Send a letter to their work.
Or come to their school even to talk to their teachers.
If it's college.
Or grad school.
Or whatever.
Any kind of letters or any kind of interaction I have with them,
I make sure it's the minimum amount of information that they need to know.
Why.
Why is that?
Because it's your private information.
It's up to you how much you want to share.
They can ask all of the questions they want.
But it's really up to what they need to know.
This is one of those things,
The classic, 'It's on a need to know basis'.
And they only need to know that you are not coming to work for x amount of days.
They don't need to know everything.
Even your boss or your superior.
You can just say,
'I have some personal issues I have to take care of.'
'I'm speaking with HR. And I'm going to be gone for these days.'
Or, 'I'm going to need this time.'
Or, you know, 'I'm going to need this one day off every week,'
'For the next, you know, however many months.'
That's all they need to know.
Now you're going to want to.
The next step is to go to HR.
And HR is a wonderful resource.
And it's all confidential.
It's almost like coming to a therapist in a way.
Totally different regulations and rules.
We don't need to treat them like therapists.
That's not what I'm saying.
But, they're a great resource.
They know all of the rules and regulations.
They are there for you.
The employee.
That's what Human Resources is for.
So find your HR department.
Find whoever the HR person is that's in charge of your area of work.
I don't know how large of a corporation you work in.
But find that person.
And take the time to sit down with them.
Now the HR person is the one you are going to tell the most.
It doesn't mean you are going to tell them all of it.
But you're going to have to tell them,
'I need to take time off because I'm having mental health issues,'
'And my therapist thought it would be best if I went to a treatment centre.'
Or, 'I'm in recovery from, you know, drinking,'
'And so I'm going to go into treatment again just for, you know, a booster.'
'And my therapist and I think it's a really great idea.'
'Or me and my sponsor talked and this is what we're going to do.'
That's what you tell HR.
And that is so that they get all of the paperwork out.
They will tell you what you need to fill out.
They will tell you how long this lasts.
Who you need to give it to.
All of that stuff.
And then you will be taken care of.
Because we all need to take time off.
We all need to take care of ourselves.
And it's about time we start putting ourselves first.
I know that you don't want to lose your job.
I know that you don't want your boss to think poorly of you.
Or think you are unreliable.
But we all know, if we don't get help,
We don't operate as well at work.
We can't think.
We can't focus.
We are not reliable.
It's really difficult.
And we're putting ourselves at risk.
And so the sooner we get help.
The better.
Because the sooner we reach out and find out if you have an EAP.
An Employee Assistance Program in your workplace to get therapy for free.
That might help so you don't have to go into inpatient.
The sooner we find out what our resources are for therapy in general.
Through our health insurance.
The better.
Because the sooner we reach out in general.
The better the outcome.
So know that you can do it.
You have the right to reach out.
You have the right at your workplace to get the help you need.
And to take the time off that you may need.
Now when it comes to applying for a job.
And explaining gaps in your work history.
And why have you not,
Why did you have this six months off.
Or why do you have that.
I got a question about that recently.
And a lot of chatter.
And the truth of it is,
That you can say,
First of all you don't have to put anything on your resume,
Or your CV, Whatever you want to call it.
You don't have to fill in the gaps with any information.
I wouldn't put any of that on there.
When it comes to the interview.
And they want to ask you.
That's when you can say,
'You know, I had some family or personal issues going on.'
'And I was really taking that time to work through them.'
'But I'm back. I'm ready to work. I'm excited to be here.'
'And I can't wait to be a part of your team.'
That's all. They are going to move on.
That's not their business.
They don't have any right to ask you any more questions.
You were dealing with your own stuff.
And now you're back.
And you're ready to work.
And that's really all that's important.
So the most important thing to remember.
Of all of the take aways from this.
Is that they cannot fire you for having a mental illness.
That'd be discrimination.
It's actually illegal.
They can't.
So don't worry.
But remember, only tell them as much as they need to know.
Because you want to come back to work,
And not feel like they're watching you and wondering what's going on.
Because we know the stigma exists.
We know people are ridiculous.
And don't always know what to say or how to act.
And so keep that in mind when you're talking to people.
But know that HR is the resource.
That you want to go to.
You want to find things out.
Okay.
And if any of you,
Please please please.
If you have any experience with this.
Because I know State to State.
Country to Country.
Rules can be different.
Let us know below.
Leave a comment below.
Let us know how it worked for you.
What were the things you had to do.
Because we're such an amazing community working together.
And it's great that we can all share information to help one another.
Because, trust me, you're not alone in this.
You're not the only one who is worried about your work history.
Or worried about getting a job.
Or taking time off.
We've all been there.
So please share your comments below.
And don't forget to subscribe.
I put out videos twice a week.
And sometimes I throw some things up randomly.
And you don't want to miss them.
And if you liked this topic,
Give it a thumbs up.
And I can talk about more applicable daily life kind of situations.
And keep checking back.
Keep working together.
Towards a healthy mind, and a healthy body.
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