(NewsNation) — Social media posts about mental health may impact how a potential employer views a job applicant, a new study found.
North Carolina State University researchers enlisted 409 professionals with hiring experience to participate in the study. Twenty-five percent of participants were shown the LinkedIn page of a job candidate with no mention of mental health, 25% were shown the same LinkedIn page with a post mentioning the job candidate’s experiences with anxiety and depression, and another quarter of study participants viewed the LinkedIn profile and heard an audio interview with the candidate.
They were then questioned about the applicant’s personality and future job performance. The study revealed that when applicants write about their experiences with anxiety and depression on LinkedIn, it affected the evaluators’ impressions of their personality traits but not their expectations about work performance.
“We found that study participants who saw the LinkedIn post about mental health challenges viewed the job candidate as being less emotionally stable and less conscientious,” Jenna McChesney, first author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Meredith College, said. “Hearing the interview lessened a study participant’s questions about the candidate’s emotional stability, but only slightly.”
McChesney said the study’s findings don’t mean people should refrain from posting about their mental health.
“However, people who are considering posting about these issues should be aware that doing so could change future employers’ perceptions of them,” McChesney said.
Lori Foster, co-author of a paper on the study and a professor of psychology at NC State, said the study shows there are also implications for employers.
“When hiring managers look up candidates on LinkedIn, they risk seeing information that can color their perceptions, even subconsciously,” Foster said. “Organizations should implement guidelines for using LinkedIn during the hiring process to encourage equitable comparisons among all candidates, including those who openly discuss mental health challenges.”
Information on the study was published Aug. 15 in the Journal of Business and Psychology.