OCD and employment

[CocoChanel]

I’ve come to the realisation that my son isn’t going to finish his degree 

Equally, however, I don’t think he’s well enough to work at the moment. He has experience of working in both the retail and hospitality industries, gained from part-time work he undertook as a student, but right now I don’t think he could cope in either setting.

His last part-time place of work was in a high end restaurant where he was employed as a Junior Waiter. Basically, that meant him cleaning crockery and polishing glasses throughout his shift. Due to contamination OCD at the time, his hands were cracked, raw, and occasionally bleeding, which obviously caused issues with the work. In fact, his boss belittled him about his need to wash his hands so frequently and thoroughly all the time (clearly he had no understanding of OCD) - and this was fairly recently, i.e. in Covid times 

My question is twofold:

What sort of work / workplace would be suitable for my son?

If he were to apply for Jobseeker’s Allowance / Universal Credit, could he be ‘signed off’ as sick while he undergoes treatment?

Thank you for reading.

[snowbear]

Hi Coco,

The first question is easy to answer. Encourage him to find a job he enjoys. Don't choose a job based on working around or accommodating OCD. It may be that he's not able to do his preferred job just now, but to set out your career plans with the idea OCD will always be there simply guarantees OCD will always be there. Recovery needs a lot of motivation and working towards a job you really want to do is an excellent motivator.

I suggest he looks at whatever jobs come up, then decide if he can work alongside his OCD once he knows exactly what the job entails.

Regarding the second question, I'm not sure which he needs to do first. I imagine you need to have a job to be signed off as sick, but you could ask Citizen's advice if he qualifies for Employment Support Allowance until he's well enough to work.

[CocoChanel]

Thank you, @snowbear. Much appreciated!

[Mae]

Hi there, 

Is there a sport that he likes or maybe something creative like art or media? What about tutoring? It might be difficult for him to study for his own education but maybe explaining or teaching someone could be different? I know a lot of people have started their own business through their own creativities, such as selling their art or from making things (food, pottery, macrame).

I don’t know if any of these things are helpful as I’m just throwing some ideas around. I guess it also depends on what he likes, if he likes to be active or is he creative or intellectual? What gets his mind going? 

My boyfriend currently works as a delivery driver, he’s self-employed through Deliveroo, Ubereats and Stuart. He says for him it doesn’t require too much thinking and you’re just in and out. It gets him outside too and he’s made some friends along the way which has been nice socially. 

If he’s able to and is willing to try different activities, maybe he’ll find his passion through that and something might come out of it 

[CocoChanel]

Thank you, @Mae. Currently, I’m having difficulty encouraging him to get out of bed at all, so I’m not sure how successful I’ll be at getting him to even think about work