Bosses are tracking — and judging — your social media posts for mental health red flags

Oversharing on social media may seem like the norm, but experts warn potential employers are not enthralled by applicants’ digital trauma dumping.

Initially billed as a white-collar networking platform, LinkedIn has taken a different form in recent years, becoming a site for flirtatious direct messages and unapologetic oversharing by its young users, more akin to Facebook.

But new research urges job applicants to be more guarded with their content — future employers are scrutinizing their profiles and even screening them for mental health concerns.

According to a study published Aug. 15 in the Journal of Business and Psychology, researchers found that oversharing on social media negatively impacted employers’ perceptions of applicants’ “emotional stability” and “conscientiousness.”

“People are often encouraged to discuss their mental health struggles on social media with the goal of reducing the stigma associated with mental health challenges,” study co-author Lori Foster, a professor of psychology at North Carolina State University, said in a statement.

“We think reducing stigma around mental health is extremely important, but our study suggests that mental health posts on platforms such as LinkedIn could have unforeseen consequences for people disclosing their mental health challenges.”

The study focused primarily on LinkedIn, which touts more than 930 million members, and surveyed 409 professionals with “hiring experience” who reviewed the same job candidate’s LinkedIn profile.

For the experiment, 25% saw a candidate’s post mentioning anxiety and depression on LinkedIn, while another 25% did not.

Another quarter of participants viewed the LinkedIn page without the mental health content while also listening to an audio interview, and the final 25% saw the omitted post about mental health and heard the interview.

Then, the study cohort was asked to evaluate the applicant’s ability to perform at the job in question.

“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,” said study author Jenna McChesney, an assistant professor of psychology at Meredith College.

While listening to the candidate’s interview lessened qualms about their emotional stability, it was only slight.

“Our findings don’t mean people should refrain from posting about anxiety and depression on LinkedIn,” McChesney said.

“However, people who are considering posting about these issues should be aware that doing so could change future employers’ perceptions of them.”

But the fault doesn’t fall solely on the candidate — Foster said employers are equally responsible for performing such thorough searches.

“When hiring managers look up candidates on LinkedIn, they risk seeing information that can color their perceptions, even subconsciously,” Foster explained.

“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.”