Working life and mental illness

Having a job fills a lot in most people’s lives, and therefore is also important if you have a mental illness. So keeping one’s job also plays an important role in relation to your everyday life and your social contact with other people. If you lose your job in connection with a period of illness, you may experience that your life starts to fall apart. Your economy deteriorates significantly, and you lose your independence, because the municipality now starts interfering and making demands on what you must do to receive unemployment benefits.

If you have been on sick leave for a period due to a mental illness, it can be important to you that you return to your job. It can also be a part of recovery, even if you do not feel completely ready yet. However, this requires that your workplace and colleagues take your situation into account. For example, it may be necessary to start up slowly and have a close dialogue with your manager and colleagues about how things are going, and whether the demands and workload are suitable in relation to your condition.

A mental illness will typically give you challenges in relation to your energy level, memory, patience, level of control and structure. So you may also be concerned about even being able to cope with working like before. Then the worries may start to pile up. Will my life even be like before? Will my work even want me back? And how open should I be about my illness?

When you make the decision to return to work, you should visualise a realistic scenario of your resources and your limitations. On the other hand, you must not let others underestimate your resources if you yourself are convinced that you can manage the job. You are the one who knows yourself the best, not your doctor or your municipal caseworker. It may be helpful to speak with your relatives or your friends about how they experience your resources and limitations in relation to managing a job.

You must also consider whether you wish to be open about your illness or not. As a starting point, it is a good idea to be open, as this is the only way you, your employer and your colleagues can take your situation into account. Furthermore, you may be afraid of being fired, because you are open. If you choose to be open or not depends on how you are as a person, on the situation and on culture at your place of work. If you have confidence in your manager, you can speak with him or her about your options. You can also speak with the shop steward or union representative at your place of work.

In addition, it can be a good idea to speak with your doctor about how you return to your job. Together you can make a plan for how you best return to everyday life. If you return to the workplace, it is important that you learn to pay attention to your health. For example, you must get accustomed to working again. That can take some time. It can also be helpful to increase your working hours slowly and have fewer work tasks in the beginning and then slowly increase.

It is also possible that you discover in the longer term that you need a permanent decrease in your working hours. Speak with your municipal caseworker about the support options that are available for reduced-hour jobs, for example. You must be aware of your limits and not overwork yourself, as this can worsen your mental condition. You must admit to yourself that there are things which you can do and things which you cannot and prepare yourself for there being differences from day to day.

On some days, everything will work out perfectly, and on other days, everything will go to pieces. It is important to ask for help in situations where you need it. Be aware that you do not fall into negative thought traps and overreact when you have difficult days. Take it for what it is: a difficult day. If you experience several difficult days, then think about whether you have too many tasks. It is important that you take care of yourself and do not overwork yourself.