In previous articles, I’ve highlighted the difficulty veterans have in finding employment. Often this is due to the stigma associated with things like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research from the University of Manitoba highlights how talking about PTSD on social media can further this stigmatization during recruitment processes.

This is worrying as veterans increasingly turn to social media platforms to gain support for any PTSD they get when returning from combat zones and transitioning into civilian life again. As a result, this can turn what is often an invisible stigma in offline life into a very visible one online. Such disclosures can be easily found by hiring managers when they research candidates online.

Negative consequences

The researchers explain how the disclosure of one’s PTSD status in online groups can have a negative impact on one’s chances in job applications as there remains a stigma and bias associated with mental illnesses in general, and particularly combat-borne mental illnesses. For instance, recruiters might believe such people will be more inclined to have PTSD-related outbursts.

This also has a number of both ethical and legal implications, as these stereotypes about veterans are often subconscious and done without the explicit awareness of hiring managers. Similarly, the researchers explain that the law has largely not kept pace with developments in technology, so don’t really cover social media assessments effectively, especially in relation to the information they can inadvertently uncover.

Such discoveries can nonetheless provide a significant barrier to employment for veterans as they attempt to transition to civilian life, while also meaning that organizations themselves miss out on the talent they so urgently need.