Employment means much more to people who have a mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis than just getting and keeping a job. Employment can mean gaining self-esteem, getting better living conditions, or just being able to have a few (or more) of the finer things in life.

When people were asked about employment, they said the things they had to struggle with were things like:

Stigma

To tell their employer about their mental illness

Not to say anything

The decision whether to tell their employer (current or future) about their diagnosis, depended not only upon what the job was, but how comfortable they felt with who they were talking to. Some ended up mentioning their illness in their job interview, as they felt they would need to use ADA (American Disabilities Act) protections later on.

Several mentioned that the decision (whether to tell an employer or not) didn’t seem to be getting any easier. When people go out and commit terrible killings and crimes, and claim they happened due to their mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis, this caused them to reconsider whether disclosure was desirable.

One mentioned that her employer sold the company and the new employer got rid of everyone who had a mental health diagnosis. The lawsuit was pending.

Mental Health and Job Performance

Does our mental health affect our job performance?

What can we do or not do?

How well we feel affects our job performance. This is true not just for mental health but for physical health. There are people who have a physical health problem that affects their job performance.

This is also true for everyone, not just for people with a mental health/psychiatric diagnosis. There are many people who do not have a mental health diagnosis who could easily qualify for a mental health diagnosis.

There were several people who felt that they couldn’t work or couldn’t do anything. There were others who felt that they could work at a good job and succeed, but were not going to be offered the opportunity due to stigma or self-stigma.

Perceived Limits

Of others (especially whether it would be part-time or full-time)

Not capable

Self-perceived limits

People who are Peer Support Specialists talk about the struggle that they have to get full-time jobs with benefits. Some feel that that it is a budgetary issue, while others feel that the people they work with don’t feel they are capable of working full time (perceived limits of others.)

Some people who have a mental illness feel that they aren’t capable of working more. This can be a real or perceived as a problem, when it might not be due to self-esteem or having felt like a failure when they previously became unable to work for a while (self-perceived limits).

Education and Training

There are different ways that people can get a different type of job.

There are supported employment programs. These are all about competitive work in integrated settings. This means that the person is working out in the community in a regular job.

There are jobs and programs that are sheltered workshops. These jobs are in a protected environment where people do paid employment but do not go out into the community. There have been complaints that in a sheltered workshop people earn amounts of money that are less than minimum wage

Some people who have a mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis go back to school. Some go back to earn a GED. Some go back or begin college so they can find a job so they can earn a living wage. A living wage is where there is enough money coming in that a person can afford to pay rent, for a car, food and other necessities and non-necessities.

There are also places one can get vocational assistance like, Vocational Rehabilitation or Michigan Works. Many of the clubhouses have job clubs or temporary employment. Some clubhouses have seasonal jobs that are available as well.