What do I tell my new employer?

I just (as in, today) was hired for a full time job. I'm very, very excited. As a silly bonus, it's close to my T's office, very convenient.

It's pretty flexible - I'll be out in the community quite a bit, and one evening a week I have to stay late, so there's a little extra time built in there.

Do I tell my employer when I see her next week that I have 'an appointment' I need to be at weekly? Do I just plan to take my 'extra' hours from my late day and take a longer lunch, or go in late?

I really don't want to have to explain anything to anyone about my therapy.

Hi Moonrise,

I have the same problem...and someone else on PC told me about this website and I hope this helps.

This site may be helpful: http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/empl...question13.asp

Good Luck!

Hi,
If you don't want your new employer to know anything about going to therapy and you can go to the appts without causing problems in your job then I would do that, the only problem might arise if later you need to take time off and have kept it secret. You could do that until you are secure in your job and they can't say that 'mental health issues' affect your work.
On the other hand you could just say that you have an ongoing appt each week (you are not obligated to tell her any more about it than that) and ask if she is happy for you to manipulate your hours to attend so long as it doesn't adversly affect your job.
I'm not a lot of help really, sorry

I wouldn't say anything just yet. Can you arrange your T appointment to occur after or before work hours? I think that is best at the beginning until you know your employer better.

Lost, interesting site. Thanks! Split & Miss, yeah, I think I'll just try and fit my appointment in when I come in later due to staying later. My T doesn't offer early or late appointments, unfortunately. I really don't want to tell anyone about my MI unless I have to. On one of my jobs, I was hospitalized, and it was fine, but that was after I had 'proved' myself as a capable employee.

I know companies aren't supposed to discriminate, but there are such subtle things that knowing about an employee's MI can affect.

I don't have any solutions other than what's been offered, but I do want to congratulate you on your new job. And I'll be watching this thread because I hope to be in a similar predicament very soon.

moon, congrats!

i had that problem, my T didn't do evening appts, or earlier than when i go in. I also work customer service, so it makes it even MORE difficult.

I was nervous for so long, and finally just told my boss I had an appt to go to, and I had already found coverage for my spot. He was really gracious and said it was fine. I've never said more than that...and its been two years! hahaha. I think he knows, but never said anything else to me about it.

I was really worried about this too when i started my current job too. Only my appointment wasn't for therapy it was for addictions treatment. I knew going in that the company offered flex time, so in my last interview before I got the job, I said I have an ongoing committment that means i would have to take every Mon. afternoon off, I'm totally willing to make up the hours, will that be a problem? They said no. And they never asked what it was about.

I relapsed last summer and had to back into treatment, so now I'm in two aftercare groups - one Mon. afternoon, and Tues morning, plus I have to leave early on Tues to get to my T appointment and on Fri. to get to my volunteer job, so I'm the queen of flex time. i work a very bizarre schedule. We have a new management team, and I have a new boss - they fired my old boss, and I was really affraid that they'd take away my flex time, but I presented it as a fait accompli. On his first day, I handed him my schedule, and said this is when I'll be at work normally, I work flext time. Since I work very independently (I'm the company accountant) it doesn't really matter when i'm there, as long as I get the work done and meet all corporate deadlines, which I do. My current boss thinks I'm taking time off for MH treatment. He knows nothign about my addiction and I'm trying to keep it that way. I had to tell them about the MH stuff, because I had to switch pdocs, and my new pdoc won't see me before work, so I need time off mid day once a month for that appointment. So I had to explain it. But my boss was cool with it.

Congratulations on the new job.

--splitimage