Potential employers view job candidates differently if they post online about mental health

It is increasingly common for people to discuss mental health challenges on social media platforms, but a new study finds these disclosures can affect the way potential employers view job applicants.

What the researchers say: “People are often encouraged to discuss their mental health struggles on social media with the goal of reducing the stigma associated with mental health challenges,” says the study’s co-author.  “We think reducing stigma around mental health is extremely important, but our study suggests that mental health posts on platforms such as LinkedIn could have unforeseen consequences for people disclosing their mental health challenges.”

“Specifically, we found that these disclosures can influence the way people view us in professional contexts,” said the first author. “It’s important for people to take that into consideration when determining whether to share their mental health experiences online.”

For the study, the researchers set out to determine the extent to which posts about mental health on LinkedIn affected perceptions of an individual’s personality and future performance in the workplace.

To address the question, the researchers enlisted 409 professionals with hiring experience to participate in a study. About 25% of the participants were shown the LinkedIn page of a job candidate, with no mention of mental health challenges. Another 25% of the participants were shown the same LinkedIn page, but it included a post mentioning the candidate’s experiences with anxiety and depression. A third quarter of the study participants saw the LinkedIn profile and heard an audio interview with the candidate. And the last 25% of participants saw the LinkedIn profile, including the post about anxiety and depression, and heard the audio interview. All of the study participants were then asked a series of questions about the job candidate’s personality and future performance in the workplace.

“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,” the researchers 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.

“Our findings don’t mean people should refrain from posting about anxiety and depression on LinkedIn,” the researchers continued. “However, people who are considering posting about these issues should be aware that doing so could change future employers’ perceptions of them.”

“There is a big push for people to always be their full authentic selves, but there has been little research into any positive or negative consequences associated with that,” said the lead author. “This study is a step toward getting a more complete picture, and it highlights just how much additional work is needed. There are also implications for employers,” she added. “When hiring managers look up candidates on LinkedIn, they risk seeing information that can color their perceptions, even subconsciously. Organizations should implement guidelines forusing LinkedIn during the hiring process to encourage equitable comparisons among all candidates, including those who openly discuss mental health challenges.”

So, what? A few years ago, it was estimated that the percentage of people suffering from depression in developed countries was 12-15%. More recent studies argue that the true figure is 36%. Clinical anxiety is not much different and even Australian senior school children have an anxiety problem - 25% of them suffer from a serious anxiety disorder.

It’s hardly surprising that they, and others, reach out on social media looking for help or answers, or just to share problems. That’s human.

The question, it seems to me as it does to the researchers, is not whether depressed or anxious people should or shouldn’t post on LinkedIn, but whether it’s legitimate for those posts, on any social media, to be taken into consideration by employers.

‍