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Mental Health: Healthy Job Seekers Make for Healthy Employees
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
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Many years ago, I was observing an employment counsellor who was meeting with a new client. I was there to provide constructive feedback. Now, this was an extremely skilled career professional, one of the best on her team, but I was struck by one comment they client made during the intake session.
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She was meeting with a man in his early 50s who had worked for a major grocery store chain for most of his career but had recently been laid off. He spoke about needing a resume and concerns about his education, but at one point he says, "I just feel really depressed."
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In response to this, his employment counsellor replies warmly, "well let's get to work on that resume."
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Just because our sphere is employment or career guidance doesn't mean that emotional and other challenges don't impact our clients' success or failure in pursuing employment outcomes.
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In providing feedback to this career professional, I mentioned that I don't believe a client in this situation would just casually say that he's feeling depressed.
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I suggested that her response in this situation might have simply been to acknowledge his statement. To say something like, "that must be very difficult for you," providing an opening for further conversation.
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Depression among job seekers is not unusual. Statistics Canada reported in 2022 that 23% of job seekers struggle with depression.
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I don't believe it's our role to provide therapeutic counselling. I only suggest we recognize this is a challenge our clients might struggle with and be able to suggest supports. This might include a referral to community counselling services, a crisis line or support group.
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I believe this is similar to how we would respond if a client disclosed other challenges such as a lack of transportation, in which we might be able to pay for a bus pass or not having child care in which we might refer them to a community child care program.
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Avoiding mental health issues is not unusual for career professionals. Many feel ill-equipped to respond in these situations and don't believe they have the training or professional credentials to provide guidance.
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In the example I provided above, I assured the career professional that in these situations we want to acknowledge the emotional challenge but we don't need to solve it.
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When a client discloses they've been dealing with a mental health challenge, it's helpful to acknowledge it with a general statement such as 'I'm sorry to hear that' or 'that must be difficult'. This will provide the opportunity for the client to speak further.
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In the example I provided, the client might simply say, 'yeah - but that's life we all got to push through, right?'. Or they may choose to discuss how it's impacting their life.
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Mostly, we want to demonstrate empathy; ask how this challenge is impacting their employment and career plans; and suggest resources if appropriate.
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Early in my career, I worked on a youth help line. We were very careful not to refer to it as a crisis line, because research found that everyone defines a crisis in a different way and we wanted all youth to feel comfortable calling our telephone line.
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Many of the clients who come into your office may be struggling with issues that can be significantly limiting their employment and career outcomes. This might be a rare opportunity for them to dialogue about the issues they are working through and be referred to suitable community supports to assist them.
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Let's be clear, someone who is struggling with depression is not going to be nearly as effective in their job search as someone who isn't struggling with these challenges. Professional therapeutic counselling, group supports, literature and medical assistance can all be of tremendous assistance in helping people bridge this gap.
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And while the data may suggest that only a quarter of job seekers struggle with depression, particularly for those who've been looking for work for some time, there are emotional challenges for nearly everyone.
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Job loss deprives many people of their sense of identity. For many of us our jobs are a key part of who we are and we lose this during long periods of unemployment.
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Added to this are the financial challenges of income loss, which puts a strain on our relationships and family which can build growing feelings of stress and anxiety.
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I've grown fond of the phrase, "skills and experience get you the interview, but confidence get's you the job."
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Within the job development field, we want to build up our clients and the students we are working with. We want to help our clients find that confidence within themselves and let this shape all aspects of their job search.
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To assist career professionals in this task, I would like to suggest an article published last year called '10 Strategies to Help Jobseekers Tackle Job Search Depression', by Lori Jazvac an award-winning Master Certified Résumé Strategist and Certified Employment Strategist through Career Professionals of Canada.
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In the article, Jazvac recommends ten approaches to support job search clients who are struggling with depression. These include:
- Awareness
- Demonstrating empathy
- Having a list of resources
- Helping clients establish routine
- Encouraging clients to track progress
- Discussing all of the client's options
- Encouraging clients to develop their own support system
- Championing client wins, small and big
- Supporting client to care for themselves
- Stressing the importance of networking
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If you click on the above link, you can download this entire article.
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One final thing to consider is our clients emotional state when they start a job. Statistically, about 20% of workers do not last three months with an employer. While this sometimes is due to career advancement, more often is the case that the employee is laid off, quits or is fired.
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Just as job search can be emotionally difficult, so can starting a new job and this is why it's so critical to have active communication with your client after they have started their job.
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If a client discloses they are struggling with a mental health issue prior to employment, we want to ensure we've directed them to the appropriate supports. Whether they take advantage of these supports is up to them, but this can be one of the most important steps your clients take to ensure lasting employment outcomes.
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We’ll be discussing the importance of mental health in job search at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Monday Oct. 7th at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland.
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On the morning of Monday October 7th, 'Click this Link' to join the session LIVE.
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