Talking About Your Mental Health Online Could Cost You A Job

Sharing details about your mental health could cost you a job, new research suggests.

Researchers at North Carolina State University surmised that the recruiters could view those who post about their mental health challenges on social media platforms could affect applicants in the long run.

“Our findings don’t mean people should refrain from posting about anxiety and depression on LinkedIn,” Jenna McChesney, the first author and assistant professor of psychology at Meredith College, said in a statement as reported by HR Dive. “However, people who are considering posting about these issues should be aware that doing so could change future employers’ perceptions of them.”

She added: “We found that study participants who saw the LinkedIn post about mental health challenges viewed the job candidate as being less emotionally stable and less conscientious,” McChesney said. “Hearing the interview lessened a study participant’s questions about the candidate’s emotional stability, but only slightly. And hearing the interview did not affect the views of participants about the job candidate’s conscientiousness. In other words, the perceptions evaluators had after seeing the LinkedIn profile largely persisted throughout the interview,” she added.

This information comes at a time when workers are increasingly facing mental health difficulties in response to a myriad of challenges including inflation.

Black women are increasingly prioritizing their mental health, but it’s coming at the cost of their livelihood.

As previously reported by ESSENCE, a recently published report by mental health app EXHALE, “The State of Self-Care for Black Women,” found that nearly 40% of Black women have left their jobs because they felt unsafe in their identity.

“As Black Women, we’re surrounded with messages telling us we’re strong and resilient enough to manage stress, but this survey proves that we are negatively impacted by a lack of necessary support,” said Katara McCarty, founder of EXHALE in a news release shared with ESSENCE. “Black Women cannot fully heal without being fully seen. We need culturally appropriate resources and tools that address the effects of racial trauma on mental, emotional, and physical health.”