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Does anyone know about medical questionnaires as part of a new job? How much truth can you tell without having to retract your resignation from your old job?
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Not sure I understand, but if it is a HR kind of thing I think they are confidential and your boss doesnt see them. Maybe? Though I guess that may be just the racial quota things.
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What do you want to conceal? Number of sick days? If you have to explain each visit to a doctor, just put something innocuous like "gastric flu" or "mole removal". Don't ever mention back problems.
I can't envisage any HR monkey being competent enough to ever check any of these things when they struggle to place an ad and raise a contract on time.
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Have you ever been assessed or treated for anxiety or depression; schizophrenia or any other mental illness?
Have you ever taken or are you taking any non-prescribed drugs, besides headache tablets / cold remedies?
that are bothering me. I know the stigma about mental illness is reduced, but it still makes me feel funny to have to write it down on a form for inspection. Will they think less of me for it if I say yes, and list off about 4 episodes over the last 15 years? If I lie and say no, what happens if I need any future treatment?
And what do they mean by non-prescribed drugs? Surely everyone takes rennies, strepsils, zantac, etc? This is before we even touch the topic of illegal drugs, though I haven't done anything like that for quite a while now.
Plus I've had a variety of ailments over the last year, ranging from a tonsillectomy to an allergic reaction which has twice left me looking like Jackie Stallone (Modge's words!), so I've had loads of sick days in the last twelve months, and I'm worried that's going to look bad. I know it says it's confidential, but... well, just. meh.
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quote:Originally posted by Bailey: It's questions like this:
Have you ever been assessed or treated for anxiety or depression; schizophrenia or any other mental illness?
Mrs Dang has suffered from anxiety/panic attacks for 20 years or more. Genuine stuff which she's had any amount of hopeless treatment for. Nothing has worked and she basically has to "live with it". Being an honest type she always mentions it on health questionnaires to do with new jobs, and it's never once been referred to by any of her employers. No one's phoned her up and said, "er, that job we were going to offer you, um, we've changed our minds".
I'd be straight. I suspect that there are one hell of a lot of people around who suffer from some form of anxiety or depression or other form of handicap, and employers must be aware of this.
With the drugs thing, I'd say they want to know if you're a regular user, even an addict. Again, a lot of people are but they carry on going to work and acting normal. I think if you needed to answer yes to this question then you'd know it.
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quote:Originally posted by Bailey: But the drugs question - do they really want to know about legal over the counter stuff I've taken or am I reading the question from a paranoid POV?
I think they mean drugs which might affect performance in some way, like sleeping tablets or maybe steroids (as in regular use of hayfever drugs), that sort of thing. It might impact on certain jobs with machines or concentration requirements. It would also include, say, using cannabis all the time as relief from arthritis pain or something. It wouldn't include cough pastilles, one would think. As I say, if you're using the kind of drugs they mean, and your physical ability is being affected by them, then you'll know to answer yes and give details. If not then just write "no".
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I know what you mean about stigma and I'd think "meh" too.
I've not been asked to fill out one of these things for work lately, but I have had to do them for mortgage related life insurance and the like. I've been treated for depression in the past, but - perhaps because the treatment is not ongoing - they've never picked me up on it.
The thing to be careful about is the small print, which, like that on application forms will probably say that if you give false information, it's grounds for sacking you.
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Thanks OJ. I've done it now, and am just going to try to forget about it and look forward to my new job instead of stressing about stuff like this!
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