Lene Sandvik Torgersen had been disabled for ten years. She thought no one would hire a 33-year-old with a blank CV and mental disorders.ap-feature-arrow
Lene Sandvik Torgersen is one of an increasing number of people on disability benefits. Photo: Stein J. Bjørge
Published: 12/10/2024 06:57
The short version
- Lene Sandvik Torgersen has fought her way back into working life after being on disability benefits due to mental disorders.
- She now works in a 50 per cent position through the NAV scheme Permanent work, which gives her facilitation and the opportunity to contribute without the need to report sick.
- Work can be health-promoting for people with mental disorders, but requires proper facilitation and open dialogue with the employer.
The summary is created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and quality assured by Aftenposten’s journalists.
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TRONDHEIM (Aftenposten): Her first encounter with working life ended with sick leave.
Lene Sandvik Torgersen (35) was 22 years old and working in a nursery school when her mental health stopped. Then she received disability benefits. Bipolar disorder and PTSD were among the diagnoses she received.
– I have struggled mentally my whole life. Although I enjoyed my job, I had no capacity for anything but myself, she says when Aftenposten meets her in Trondheim.
In Norway, over 369,000 people are like Torgersen – disability benefits. The share has increased evenly over time. Three quarters of them do not work at all, according to Statistics Norway.
And almost everyone between 18-29 on disability benefits stays there for life.
What will it take to be seen as a resource in working life again?
Torgersen himself tried all kinds of treatments for ten years. A nine-to-four job just became more and more distant.
Running was one of many things that made Lene Sandvik Torgersen feel better. She has taken part in several ultra races – and ran for eight hours straight. Photo: Stein J. Bjørge
Today, she is still on disability benefits, but works in a 50 percent position.
What made her find her way back? It started with a coincidence.
Does work make you healthier?
In the case of mental disorders, sick leave may be necessary. But the longer you are on sick leave, the more the risk increases that you will become disabled and never return to work.
That’s why job-focused therapy is a solution when calling in sick for depression and anxiety, says psychologist specialist Ragne Gjengedal.
In other words, combining effective treatment with help to return to work.
– People with all types of mental disorders are a valuable resource in working life when they have a meaningful job, she says.
Ragne Gjengedal
Psychology specialist trained at the University of Oslo. Has a doctorate in working life and mental health.
Should the boss know everything about your psyche?
A number of studies show that work promotes health. Also for people with mental disorders.
But the work must be organized correctly and based on the employee’s needs, with dialogue and openness. Researcher Tonje Fyhn thinks so.
She has written a doctoral thesis on what inhibits and promotes work participation for people with mental disorders.
– There is a lot of talk about openness when it comes to mental disorders, but in working life one should be open with a bit of prudence, says Fyhn.
Managers are most uncertain about hiring employees with mental disorders, according to one of Fyhns studies.
To know what you should and shouldn’t share with your boss, consider this:
– What is relevant for the employer to know? What affects the job? When should you be open? Some people need to be open at the job interview, while others experience it as a risk.
– Can more people than we know be resources in working life?
– Absolutely. Many employers still look for a “100 percent resource” in a hiring process. But then there are many who fall outside.
Guess they won’t work
The system creates unnecessary obstacles for disabled people who want to find their way back to working life, Fyhn believes.
– First you have to convince the doctor and Nav that you are ill enough for disability benefits. Then you suddenly have to think of yourself as a resource, which can be very demanding.
– Does society give up on the mentally ill too easily?
– Of course, because we assume they don’t want to work. But many people both want and can do healthy things even if they are not symptom-free.
Precisely that became the key for Lene Sandvik Torgersen.
– Fought to get here
– I have fought to get here. I found the workplace myself, says Torgersen.
For her, this was crucial:
By chance, she heard about an arranged job arrangement in Nav.
Then she found an employer who saw something in her, when she herself had lost her faith.
She started working as a volunteer creating content for social media at Bedriftsidretten Midt-Norge, which organizes marathons.
Later, she was employed there through the NAV scheme called VTA (permanent organized work).
In her job, she and colleague Randi Riseth Sæther create social media content to inspire others to exercise.
– At work, they don’t see my mental problems as challenges, they see my insight as a resource.
Nav gives the company a subsidy to have Sandvik there, and she is entitled to more facilitation than in a normal job.
– If I’m having a bad day, I don’t need a sick note to be at home.
She has been relatively open with her boss about her challenges.
Failing to obtain sick leave
When she became disabled, her mental health needed all her energy. Now it’s the opposite.
– Both work and training give me energy. I don’t benefit from having too much time to think about myself.
She enjoys being tired after a long day at work. And the feeling of “final weekend” on Fridays.
For Lars Anders Helgemo, Torgersen is like an ordinary employee. He is the head of Business Sports in Mid-Norway and believes that Sandvik’s history can inspire many.
– She has had an enormous development this year, he says.
– Although she has her challenges, it has been completely unproblematic from an employer’s perspective. I believe in facilitating people so that they can experience mastery in working life.
