Does taking time off work with depression or stress affect your future job prosp

1. 83

   TFScientistposted 12 years ago

   Does taking time off work with depression or stress affect your future job prospects?
   
   Any personal experiences or thoughts from managers or HR departments would be fantastic. Anything with a slant towards the education sector and schools would be even more helpful!

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2. 67

   Mommymayposted 12 years ago

   To best answer the question I would need some more information but I can tell you my thoughts. I am a management recruiter for the Hospitality industry so not an expert but experience with hiring practices. IF you are leaving a position and taking time off for depression or stress and then searching for a job when you are up to it...YES it could affect your prospects. Not necessarily because of the depression or stress but because In an interview you will always have to answer the question....why did you leave your last position? You will also then be searching for a job while unemployed which is also difficult to explain. It will be tough to say why you didn't seek employment before leaving your post as well as why you did not work. Sadly, employed folks always have it easier than a job seeker with a "gap" on their resume. If it is documented medically as a condition then you also will need to note this on many job applications which will come up during an interview. BUT...if you are simply taking a leave of absence - returning to your job-then seeking new employment....it shouldn't affect you! When doing employment history checks employers will typically ask about your  dates of and duration of employment, salary, and maybe performance. Many companies have even made it policy to give no information except a simple--yes or no they are eligible for rehire.  Hope that helps!

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3. 61

   cajunroosterposted 12 years ago

   I was a manager for a long, long time handling many employees. I was always for helping a person and giving them the benefit of the doubt. But in this country we don't treat mental issues as diseases. We look at them mainly as some kind of character issue or something along those lines.
   
   I have been in a position to recommend people for jobs after they left my firm. Many times, if the person had some mental issues, I tried to be fair and  honest about it all, but once that gets out about a person it does affect future job prospects. It should not, but it does.

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4. 82

   Escobanaposted 12 years ago

   My personal experience on the influence of taking time off with depression (and Bipolar Disorder) is simple.
   
   It affected my carreer in such a way, that I never worked again after leaving the school I worked for as a teacher. I'm saying, I never got hired again by any employer because I was recovering for over 4 years. That's a big gap on your CV.
   
   Whatever I tried, whatever level I applied for or whatever my motivation was, to get a job again, employers in Holland see a huge NO GO when they know about your medical history.
   
   Especially when it's a Mental medical history. For receiving a pension because of it, I always had to tell employers the truth. So does time off work affect your future carreer? In my case it sure did but I'm one lucky bastard too.
   
   I live in Spain, I'm an online writer (read Hubber) and I'm a great lover of life with all the freedom in the world!

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5. 60

   Penny Gposted 11 years ago

   As long as you have the time on the books probably not. HIPPA protects the reason you are off, it's Federal so it's protected information.

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