Having that support from your workplaces when you first started to seek help for your mental health sounds like it was really important for recovery @Ultravox. It’s amazing that a workplace can facilitate or undermine wellbeing, and how we are supported during a time when we might need more adjustments is so important.
You also spoke a lot about stigmatizing language in the mental health sector, which makes it really hard for team members to feel safe to disclose lived experience or caring experiences. Disclosure is a big topic and I look forward to exploring this more tonight.
I might answer these ones too!
a) What industries have you worked in before? I started my employment journey working at local sporting clubs, bakeries and retail. I then moved to the construction industry (including doing waterproofing, demo and office management), then landed in the mental health sector as a peer worker.
b) What has been your experience in the workplace when living with a mental health concern?
I have had really mixed experiences. My mental health really went down hill around the same time I was in the construction industry and unfortunately at the time it wasn’t a workplace where being open about lived experience was a safe decision. I had extended periods of time off work, and found it hard to get through the work day. When my wellbeing improved, I struggled to get back into the workforce.
Later in my employment journey in the mental health sector, I have had some really supportive workplaces who understood and valued lived experience where I have been really supported to take time if I needed it, or to reduce my hours to seek professional support. I’ve slowly built up from 2 days a week to full time work as my wellbeing improved. All in all, my employment journey has been a mixed bag of positive and not so positive workplace experiences
