As a manager considering the hiring of a mentally ill person, you might be interested in some stories that I have to tell as one mentally ill and in a supervisory position.
In my younger days as an engineer I had the opportunity to hire some summer interns. I remember one who I scheduled for an office interview. When the time came, I received a frantic phone call that he was running late and would not be able to make it. Could we reschedule? This was not a good sign, but I had been working in New York City for a number of years by that time and realized that things sometimes happened – a helicopter falls out of the sky, the subway catches on fire, there is a parade en route, and so on. So reluctantly, I scheduled a new date. When that date came, I received a frantic phone call that he was running late and would not be able to make it. Could we reschedule? I said no.
Oh, come on. You gotta give me a chance.”
“I gave you a chance,” I replied, and that was the end of the interview.
On another occasion I had a young but very good engineer intern working for me. I needed some field work done. So I outlined what needed to be done: where to go, who to see, what to do. When I was done I told her clearly and emphatically to use my name. When she came back, she told me the story. She wasn’t getting anywhere at the site and was getting frustrated at not making headway on her assignment. Then the light dawned: She used my name, and she said it was like the parting of the Red Sea. She accomplished her mission
So maybe the mentally ill are not so incompetent after all. Someday I’ll have to tell you the story of the former stunt man who I almost threw out of the electrical substation for safety reasons.
Have a good one.