Telling employer?

[Plantey]

I work for a large multinational company in Melbourne. Just got diagnosed with depression last week and started medication. The final straw for me seeing the doctor was some harsh words my manager said to me about my performance.

I am on leave now for a few weeks.

i feel like telling my boss might help her understand my poor performance last year and help my return to work. But I’m also worried about the stigma and if she reacts differently.

what should I do ? 😞

[Quercus]

Hi Plantey and welcome,

I was wondering if you'd made any progress deciding whether you want to tell your employer about your depression?

I hope you're seeing an improvement now you've started medication and the time off is helping you also.

Reading your post my first thought was to say think it through carefully before you say anything at work.

It may be discriminatory to punish someone for having mental health issues but it still happens at some workplaces anyway.

I worked for the government and found that people still judge and discriminate... They're just more careful to not get caught. That said my current employer knows and is wonderful. I think it comes down to whether your manager understands mental illness or not.

You can always choose to tell your manager that you'd experienced a health issue and needed to manage it. There is no requirement for you to elaborate.

I hope you find the support you need.

Nat

[smallwolf]

Hi and welcome

* and waves to Nat :)*

sorry about delay in replying your post. A post can sometimes slip between the cracks and I understand that it really sucks from the perspective of the poster. And you raise a very important question on whether or not to tell an employer. Like Nat, my employers know have no issues. If you do tell them, then perhaps together you can work out a way forward The downside is as Nat posted. Until you take that step there is not real way of knowing how they might react. On the other side, when I spoke with someone else at work I got his story. For me, we don't really know who else has it as it is still not spoken.

One suggestion might be to google search SHOULD BE I TELL EMPLOYER DEPRESSION and read some of the pages that appear. Beyond blue also a page

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/personal-best/pillar/supporting-yourself/should-you-tell-your-manager-you-have-a-mental-health-condition

that talks about this very question which has links to tools to help you decide and how you might have this conversation.

By the way ... good on you for reaching out and getting help. It takes courage to work out there is a problem and then address it. And while it might not seem like it at the moment you are talking about it here. Perhaps you might also talk to friends or family. and get their thoughts as well.

Listening to you, Tim