Keeping a disability a secret can also be taxing on your mental resources, which may affect your energy and productivity. If you are primarily seeking understanding from your colleagues, as opposed to accommodations, it can be as simple as privately telling your supervisor about the difficulties you encounter due to your medical condition. Someone with an invisible disability like Crohn’s disease, for example, may prefer to not disclose their disability to their colleagues, but it may be important to share to help explain periodic absences from team meetings or work. Other examples of accommodation requests might include the ability to work from home, altered work schedules (such as scheduling work around physical therapy appointments), a quiet work environment or headphones to cut out distractions, and changes in supervisory methods (such as written instructions from a manager who would usually be more hands-off). For example, an applicant who is deaf might request a sign language interpreter during a job interview. Job applicants and employees alike may request “reasonable accommodations” in connection with disclosing a disability. If you have a disability, you might consider informing your workplace for any number of reasons, which might include: To request reasonable accommodations We identified key areas that could be tricky for him - based on my knowledge and his past interviews - and focused on prepping for them.” Why should I tell my employer about my disability? “Ultimately it was his choice, but we decided it wasn’t necessary to disclose it up front since he could reasonably work through it. In some cases, disclosing a disability can have negative consequences like being treated poorly in the workplace or being seen as making excuses.”Įmma Esparza, an Indeed career coach, recalled working with a candidate with severe autism. Many people fear they will be viewed differently or have different expectations from everyone else after disclosing this information. Others don’t want to come across as less capable than their counterparts. “Many people choose not to disclose their disability because they don’t want to be treated differently within their working relationships. “People with invisible disabilities, in particular, are often hesitant to disclose their disability to coworkers or their managers,” suggests Amira Sounny-Slitine, a hiring specialist at Indeed Hire. Before exploring reasons why it may be beneficial to disclose a disability, it can be helpful to understand why people might choose not to divulge that information. The diversity of disabilities can lead to a wide range of experiences in the workplace, and the question of whether or not to disclose it can be highly personal. Related: A Guide To Activism in the Workplace Why some employees don’t disclose a disability Employees may not report a disability because they don’t believe it impacts their ability to work or are never given the opportunity to disclose it. However, statistics in the workplace can be difficult to quantify because many employees either don’t disclose a disability when they are hired, or they acquire a disability after working at a company for several years. The World Health Organization, cited in the World Bank’s World Report on Disability, estimates one billion people - about 15% of the global population - experience some form of disability. Related: 7 Steps for Returning To Work After Being on Disability Disabilities outlined by the ADA include (but are in no way limited to) deafness, blindness, non-functioning or missing limbs, cancer, diabetes, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, arthritis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, HIV and depression. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. What is considered a disability in the workplace? In this article, we explain why you might consider telling your employer about a disability, and how and when you might have the conversation. However, telling an employer about a disability - be it visible, like cerebral palsy, or invisible, like chronic pain or depression - may be necessary to help you receive adequate accommodations to perform your job. The fear of discrimination, unconscious bias and other negative consequences might lead many to withhold information about their physical or mental health from others. Disclosing a disability to a current or potential employer can be a stressful but perhaps necessary step.
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