ANXIETY
IN THE WORKPLACE
Getting
stressed out at work is natural - it happens
to everyone. But there's a difference between
being stressed out by your job and having
an anxiety disorder. Stress can trigger a
latent disorder, or heighten the anxiety already
being experienced by a sufferer. This is bad
news for people with anxiety disorders, as
well as for employers dealing with lost productivity,
absenteeism, poor performance and increased
healthcare costs when employees are ill.
Although
higher levels of stress make today's workplace
a more difficult environment for people with
anxiety and depressive disorders, there is
good news! People with mental illnesses have
rights in the workplace, rights that can make
their jobs less of an everyday struggle.
Your
Workplace Rights
Congress
passed the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) in 1990, which is enforced by
the Equal Employment
Opportunities Commission (EEOC). Title
I of the act prohibits employers from discriminating
against qualified job applicants and employees
who have disabilities. People with psychiatric
disorders are covered under the ADA, and although
the actual wording of the law is unclear,
the intent is clear. Those with mental disorders
are not to be discriminated against any more
than a person with diabetes, epilepsy, or
any other medical condition.
What
can you do to make life at work less stressful
if suffering from an anxiety disorder?
| • |
Keep
working! Apart from the obvious
financial reason, employment is
important for enhancing your self-esteem
and adds to your social identity. |
| • |
Educate
yourself about your disorder.
Learn to recognize the symptoms
and how to handle them if you experience
any while at work. |
| • |
Recognize
your own limitations. Be realistic
and don't overestimate what you
can handle. |
| • |
Tell
a trusted co-worker about your disorder.
Knowing that someone at work
is aware of your condition, and
accepting of it, can be very comforting.
It can take much of the anticipatory
fear out of having a panic attack
at work. |
|
•
Qualifying for a Disability
•
Reasonable Accommodation
• Disclosing
a Disability
• Stigma
Qualifying
for a Disability
An individual with a psychiatric disability
is defined as someone who has a mental impairment
that interferes with one or more "major
life activities." A mental impairment
includes major depression, bipolar disorder,
an anxiety disorder, schizophrenia or a personality
disorder. Stress itself is not a mental impairment,
but it may be related to, or a symptom of,
an impairment. Major life activities include:
sleeping, concentrating, interacting with
others, learning, caring for oneself, speaking,
performing manual tasks and working. If one
of the above mental impairments interferes
with a person's ability to work over a period
of several months or longer it may be considered
a disability. A condition that is chronic
may also be considered limiting enough to
qualify as a disability.
Reasonable
Accommodation
In addition to protection under the law, an
individual with an impairment that meets the
qualifications can ask for "reasonable
accommodation" in the workplace. What
constitutes reasonable accommodation is decided
on an individual basis, and usually involves
changes to workplace policies, procedures,
or practices. Examples include:
•
Flexible scheduling or leave
• Sound minimizing partitions between
workstations
• Extra time to learn new tasks
• An on-site job coach.
An
employer is obliged to grant any requests
for such accommodations unless it can be proved
that doing so would place "undue hardship"
on the employer.
Disclose
or Not Disclose?
Whether or not to disclose a disability to
an employer is a very personal decision. Reasons
for disclosing vary. Some people disclose
because they need accommodations, others because
they want to educate people about their condition,
and still others disclose because they do
not want to feel like they are hiding something.
Whatever the reason, disclosure can be a big
step emotionally and should be thought through
carefully. It will be helpful if, before disclosure,
an employee understands the demands of the
job, determines what he needs in terms of
accommodations, and knows his own limitations.
Employers
are not allowed to ask a job candidate or
employee whether or not he has a disability.
What they can do is make a conditional job
offer based on a medical examination, but
this must be required of all job applicants,
not only those suspected of having a disability.
If the applicant is found to have a disability,
the employer can then ask about the nature
of the disability. The job offer can be withdrawn
only if the condition will prevent the applicant
from fulfilling the requirements of the job.
There
are certainly risks associated with telling
an employer about one's disability. An employee
may suffer some stigma and discrimination
either from supervisors or co-workers although
it is not legal. One way to minimize risk
is to assess the track record of the company
and its management. Know what an employer's
history is with other employees who have disabilities
in terms of accommodating their needs, respecting
their privacy, handling discrimination and
measuring attitudes towards employees after
disclosure. Disclosure can be made at any
time, so the decision to do so can wait until
an employee feels comfortable in the workplace
or until a reasonable accommodation becomes
necessary. It is advisable, however, to alert
supervisors to problems before they get out
of hand.
According
to the Bazelon
Center for Mental Health Law, if you decide
to disclose you should determine how specific
you want to be about your disability and provide
additional information accordingly:
•
Very general: refer to a medical condition
or an illness.
• A little more specific: say that you
have a biochemical imbalance, a neurological
problem, a brain disorder, or difficulty with
stress.
• Mention mental illness specifically:
mental illness, a psychiatric disorder, or
a mental disability.
• Give your exact diagnosis: clinical
depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, etc.
Stigma
Disclosing a psychiatric disorder is such
a difficult decision because of the stigma
associated with mental illness. Defined as
a mark of shame, disgrace or disapproval,
stigma inflames misconceptions about people
with anxiety disorders and other mental conditions.
They can be viewed as weak-willed, having
a character flaw, or worse - being "crazy,"
incompetent, or even violent. The key weapons
to combat stigma in the workplace are education
and understanding what your rights are under
the law.
To
learn more about the Americans with Disabilities
Act, the rights of people with mental illnesses
in the workplace, and stigma, visit the following
websites:
