[HedgeMage]

If I hired someone, and found out that they lied during their interview about anything at all, they'd be fired, period. I could not trust someone who lies during an interview to make ethical decisions in the future. Honesty doesn't have to mean full disclosure. You can be honest while keeping some facts to yourself.

Here's a good example:

I was taking some time off for voluntary reason when I became ill. I was lucky enough to be able to afford treatment and to delay my re-entry to the workforce until I became confident that my health wouldn't be a hindrance.

Just keep it simple and be honest.

I realize that there's a stigma attached to certain types of illnesses or disabilities, and it may seem tempting to make an excuse or cover rather than being honest. However, in addition to the likely inevitability of the deception being discovered, there's a worse possibility:

One young man I know (Calling him Bob, not his name) interviewed with a friend and colleague of mine (calling her Alice), but didn't get the job. I checked in with Alice to find out what happened, thinking that at least I could get Bob some useful feedback. It turns out that Bob had rated well on skills related to the job. However, he'd been so cagey about a six-month work history gap that the interviewing committee thought it likely that he'd worked some job not on his resume and was fired for cause, perhaps for stealing or sexual harassment or "something else big".

Bob was so afraid of the company finding out that he'd been in psych care after a major trauma, that he led them to believe he was a criminal.

Honesty really is the only good policy.

[thebean11]

OP has no responsibility to share about their illness. In this case they are perfectly within their right to tell some half truth (wanted to spend time with my family, study x subject, burnout etc) and your company might be in some legal hot water if you fired OP in response to finding out they were ill during that time..

Frankly I think it's unethical, and shows a lack of empathy, to punish someone for hiding an illness from an employer.

[yellowcake0]

That's an odd lesson to take away from your anecdote about Bob. What Bob should have done was just told a white lie that wouldn't have raised any red flags or follow up questions, and left it at that.

There will always be a stigma around mental illness, it's human nature, not some social construct, and I would 100% lie to you about something like that and not feel the least bit bad about it.

[mymllnthaccount]

Your story is really strange and your takeaway is the exact opposite of what it should be.

Alice just jumped to the conclusion that Bob was a criminal? How is that okay? The answer to your story isn't for Bob to reveal potentially embarrassing personal information in a job interview but for Alice not to assume that everyone with a gap in their resume is a criminal.

[worker_person]

What do you do when it's work or die?

I was injured (series of small strokes) I have learned to NEVER let employer know you have an ongoing medical issue.

Once they know. You get sympathy for a bit. Then everyone keeps telling how you shouldn't work and should focus on yourself.

Which is crap. Because an invisible injury is nearly impossible to get on Disability.

So work the best you can, or become homeless and die from lack of health care.

[actually_a_dog]

"Taking care of a sick relative" is an accurate statement here that avoids all considerations of stigma.