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posted by martyb on Sunday January 26 2020, @11:28AM   Printer-friendly
from the NOW-you-tell-me? dept.

YouTube moderators are being forced to sign a statement acknowledging the job can give them PTSD:

Content moderators for YouTube are being ordered to sign a document acknowledging that performing the job can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to interviews with employees and documents obtained by The Verge. Accenture, which operates a moderation site for YouTube in Austin, Texas, distributed the document to workers on December 20th — four days after The Verge published an investigation into PTSD among workers at the facility.

"I understand the content I will be reviewing may be disturbing," reads the document, which is titled "Acknowledgement" and was distributed to employees using DocuSign. "It is possible that reviewing such content may impact my mental health, and it could even lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I will take full advantage of the weCare program and seek additional mental health services if needed. I will tell my supervisor/or my HR People Adviser if I believe that the work is negatively affecting my mental health."

The PTSD statement comes at the end of the two-page acknowledgment form, and it is surrounded by a thick black border to signify its importance. It may be the most explicit acknowledgment yet from a content moderation company that the job now being done by tens of thousands of people around the world can come with severe mental health consequences.

"It is possible that reviewing such content may impact my mental health, and it could even lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

"The wellbeing of our people is a top priority," an Accenture spokeswoman said in an email. "We regularly update the information we give our people to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the work they do — and of the industry-leading wellness program and comprehensive support services we provide."

Accenture said it shares information about potentially disturbing content with all of the content moderators it employs, including those who work on its contracts with Facebook and Twitter. But it would not answer questions about whether it specifically informs Facebook and Twitter moderators that they are at risk for PTSD. The Verge has previously interviewed Facebook moderators working for Accenture competitor Cognizant in Phoenix, Arizona, and Tampa, Florida, who have been diagnosed with PTSD after viewing violent and disturbing content.

In a statement, Facebook said it did not review or approve forms like the one Accenture sent. A Twitter spokeswoman said that both full-time and contract Twitter employees receive information when they join the company that acknowledges they might have to view sensitive material as part of their jobs. It is not clear whether contract workers for Facebook or Twitter have been asked to sign the PTSD acknowledgment form.

[...] The PTSD form describes various support services available to moderators who are suffering, including a "wellness coach," a hotline, and the human resources department. ("The wellness coach is not a medical doctor and cannot diagnose or treat mental health disorders," the document adds.)

It also seeks to make employees responsible for monitoring changes in their mental health and orders them to disclose negative changes to their supervisor or HR representative. It instructs employees to seek outside help if necessary as well. "I understand how important it is to monitor my own mental health, particularly since my psychological symptoms are primarily only apparent to me," the document reads. "If I believe I may need any type of healthcare services beyond those provided by [Accenture], or if I am advised by a counselor to do so, I will seek them."

The document adds that "no job is worth sacrificing my mental or emotional health" and that "this job is not for everyone" — language that suggests employees who experience mental health struggles as a result of their work do not belong at Accenture. It does not state that Accenture will make reasonable accommodations to employees who become disabled on the job, as required by federal law. Labor attorneys told The Verge that this language could be construed to suggest that employees may be terminated for becoming disabled, which would be illegal.

[...] Meanwhile, employees I spoke with expressed shock that only recently — after they had been doing the job for more than a year — did Accenture acknowledge that the work could scar them deeply and perhaps permanently.

"If I knew from the beginning how this job would impact our mental health, I would never have taken it," one said.


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  • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Monday January 27 2020, @02:19AM

    by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Monday January 27 2020, @02:19AM (#949114) Journal

    So maybe they could hire people who already have PTSD and have developed coping mechanisms that work, have their therapy dogs, and can recognize when it's starting to get to them and take a break and find someone to talk to?

    There is life after PTSD. PTSD doesn't mean you're a snowflake or weak, you know.

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