To disclose on LinkedIn or not to disclose...?

In recent years, more people have been sharing their mental health journeys on all types of social media platforms, including professional networks such as LinkedIn. I'm sure this isn't a surprise, as if your LinkedIn feed is anything like mine, then you will have seen many of your professional connections share deeply personal life experiences and other events, openly discussing the impact of these on their wellbeing.

The debate as to whether discussing mental health at work affects one's career path and professional capabilities remains inconclusive with contradictory evidence and on going research. Yet, research clearly demonstrates that "contact-based approaches" (i.e.: approaches where people with a lived experience of mental ill-health interact with the general population) are the best way to diminish the public stigma* of mental illness. Furthermore, empowering individuals to speak up and share their mental health experiences is vital in reducing one's self-stigma**. So on the face of it, sharing your mental health experiences on a social media platform is considered positive and beneficial in the quest to reduce mental health stigmatisation.

However, I came across a very interesting article in October's edition of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest in which recent research from North Carolina State University found that stigmatising beliefs about mental ill-health are still very much prevalent in professional environments. Specifically, this piece of research suggests that discussing one's personal mental health experiences on LinkedIn does indeed impact a job candidates appraisal, and thus it can be argued potentially impacts one's career path and potential.

This research found that the professional image and the work-based personality traits of job role candidates were negatively impacted if their LinkedIn profile contained mental health posts disclosing experiences of anxiety of depression. In these situations stereotypical beliefs about the applicant’s disposition were apparent as individuals were thought to be less emotionally stable and less conscientious, and even post-interview some negative impressions of these job candidates remained. However this research also discovered that disclosure doesn't impact the perception of the job candidates future work performance. Additionally, for job candidates who had disclosed on LinkedIn, allowing them the ability to answer questions helped to improve negative impressions.

This research sadly implies that the stigma surrounding mental ill health in the workplaces is still very much present particularly during the job recruitment and application process. This stigma can particularly impact one's professional image and how they are screened as job candidates in particular. It also highlights how the inclusion of personal information within a professional social platform (LinkedIn) can be difficult for employers to ignore or forget much later on. Individuals experiencing mental ill-health who are considering disclosing on LinkedIn remain faced with a difficult conundrum given that the simple option of not disclosing contradicts the body of evidence as to the anti-stigmatisation benefits disclosure has.

Could coaching help?

Research consistently demonstrates that coaching is beneficial to individual wellbeing in a number of different ways, and actually can reduce workplace stigmatisation of mental ill-health, by promoting and supporting positive mental health attitudes within a workplace. This study doesn't explore coaching but raises some practical implications I believe are worth considering for all coaches. Notably coaches working with organisations and individual on matters relating to wellbeing, career progression or leadership development. Coaches with job-seeking clients may want to explore disclosure in the context of professional image and desirable work-related personality traits. While coaches who work with recruiters and HR professionals may want to support organisations to consider any ethical and legal implications for using LinkedIn to gather "background" information on job candidates.

I fully expect to see continuing encouragement for people to disclose on LinkedIn however, as this study concludes; "Those who choose to disclose their struggles with anxiety and depression on LinkedIn should be aware that doing so could change future employers’ perceptions of them... and organizations should be careful when using LinkedIn to gather information about job applicants." (McChesney and Foster, 2023)

If you're interested in reading the original articles that underpin my writing today:

BPS Research Digest here.

Read Mental Health isn't taboo on Linked In here.

McChesney, J., Foster, L. Is It #okaytosay I Have Anxiety and Depression? Evaluations of Job Applicants Who Disclose Mental Health Problems on LinkedIn. J Bus Psychol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-023-09907-6

*Public stigma is the negative or discriminatory attitudes others have about mental illness. It is a pervasive barrier, preventing people from seeking support and appropriate mental health care. ** Self stigma happens when people internalise public attitudes and sadly suffer numerous negative consequences as a result.