I work in a law firm and have had my monthly probation reviews with the firm. I absolutely smashed it at the start which I imagine set expectations quite high.
I have a history of depression and have recently fallen into a terrible headspace. This has no doubt affected my performance at work. I work in a really supportive environment and they have asked on two occasions “if there is anything going on outside of work that we should know about.”
Both times I said there was nothing but with things not improving, I’m considering raising this with them.
Would this be a good idea to do? I am worried this might be a reason to get rid of me should these issues persist.
I would welcome your thoughts on what to do in this situation.
12 comments
It’s good that they are asking this.
ABSOLUTELY tell them.
You are lucky that you have a company who are asking.
I would say it’d be a bit of a risk if they didn’t ask and you mention it.
It sounds like you have a supportive company.
My company is much the same, and it’s a very high hurdle to jump in order to tell them.
But trust me, it’s such a relief when you do.
I think it depends whether your employer has the skills and resources in place to offer you support. Personally, mine did not and I had an unprofessional boss who ostracised me for disclosing my mental health difficulties and made my working life hell until I was forced to put myself forward for voluntary redundancy. I sincerely hope that your working environment is more supportive. My own bad experience aside, I think it’s good to have mental health issues out in the open because they are nothing to feel ashamed or embarrassed about. You would tell your boss if you had broken a hip and struggled to attend onsite meetings as a result so you should be able to tell them about a mental illness which affects your performance too with the expectation that they will help you to adapt your current duties while you work on recovering.
Absolutely, yes! Your employer may have support available for you to utilise
Tell them,
Yes, tell them! Make sure this is through email and such as wel. It’s great that they are asking and you will be very very surprised how hard it actually is to fire someone once the words “mental health” are mentioned.
Other people are saying tell them, which may be the right stance but please be careful. I don’t want to go into details, but it was used against me one time at a place I considered progressive and I’ll never forget it. It all depends on a lot of factors, and you won’t necessarily be able to prove discrimination even if you are confident that’s what happened.
Yes. I’m someone who also struggles with depression and in general work has been able to point me in direction in some help/be understanding when I’m in a bad headspace. From your post it sounds like your company would do the same.
If they are asking if there are other factors, on that statement alone, it sounds like they genuinely want to know. It’s down to you, but I would tell them.
Yes, because it’s classed as a disability under the Equality Act so you should be entitled to reasonable adjustments. If your workplace is supportive then it should be fine. By the sounds of it they already know something is wrong
Don’t tell them and do less work to avoid burnout
Tell them. If they try and use it against you, then they’re an awful employer and you should leave quick as you can.
How is at affecring your performance? Are you wasting days doing nothing?