Hidden disabilities are more common than apparent ones and can be harder to accommodate on the job. Marcia Lang, a social worker and psychologist in Silver Spring, Md., shared ideas for accommodating individuals with psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disabilities at the Society for Human Resource Management's Employment Law & Compliance Conference in Washington, D.C., on March 29.
The author of Hidden Disabilities in the Workplace (Palmetto Publishing, 2021), Lang noted that somewhere between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 individuals have disabilities, most of the disabilities are hidden and many employees with hidden disabilities are afraid to disclose they have one. It's up to employers to create a safe environment for individuals with disabilities to step forward and request an accommodation, she said.
The Interactive Process
Accommodation requests don't have to include the phrase, "I need an accommodation," she stated. An employee may request accommodations more indirectly, such as, "I'm having trouble getting to work at my scheduled starting time because of medical treatments I'm undergoing." Managers need to be trained to be on the lookout to identify accommodation requests so they can be referred to HR.
Once an employee requests a reasonable accommodation, the employer needs to engage in a discussion with the employee about possible accommodations. This discussion is commonly referred to as the interactive process.
First ask, "How can I help you?" Lang recommended. The...
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