An Australian study recently showed that four in ten bipolar workers do not disclose. Therefore, one very important accommodation is allowing for time for bipolar employees to see their physicians and their therapists. If a job can be more easily broken into smaller projects that can be distributed according to our efficiency, then that can really improve our effectiveness. For many of us, it is even impossible, especially in jurisdictions in which care is state sponsored, and therefore we have little control over the schedule. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. People with bipolar disorder may develop some of the limitations discussed below, but seldom develop all of them. Many would be quite willing and even happy to take a proportional pay cut if it would allow them to hold down a job that they could handle effectively given the condition. If I Could Push a Button and Get Rid of Bipolar Disorder, Would I? During the last week of school prior to winter break, I met with the "team" to discuss my 10-year-old son, Bob (now in 4th grade), his diagnoses (bipolar disorder and ADHD, possible high-functioning Asperger's), and his eligibility for services under an IEP or 504 Plan (blogged about here). What is needed then is for employers to proactively make it clear that people who have mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, feel safe revealing their mental disorders. They’re just “ticks”, so to speak. Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act requires schools to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate all students, including those with a learning impairment. My oldest son, Bob, has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and ADHD. First, workers need to have it be known that their jobs are not in jeopardy if they disclose their disorder. It goes on to require schools to provide educational services from Kindergarten to the 12thgrade or until the student is 22 years of age. This means that employers have an obligation to not discriminate nor harass someone with bipolar disorder. Your email address will not be published. modified school arrival, shortened day, scheduling of core content during the student s most alert time, reducing homework and extending deadlines, providing notes, allowing longer or more frequent breaks, allowing exercise or other movement due to sleep impairment or to sedation of medications. Perhaps the most important accommodation for most bipolar people is flexibility in work schedules. This was not limited to me, which I can only assume was to protect the discrimination lawsuit they anticipated, but I was the one most seriously affected. collection of all diagnosable mental disorders causing severe disturbances in thinking It is protected in the United States under the Americans With Disabilities Act, while in Canada it is protected under provincial Human Rights Acts. Mentioning it verbally at a staff meeting is best (don’t do it individually, because that starts to look like you suspect something). You’re welcome, and thank you for the comment. I think many employers believe that they are only required to protect disabled workers who actively disclose their disabilities. I need to make a quick note here about confidentiality. I have discussed the subject of stigma before. Because the company is so large they have outside sources handle their disability requests. It shows that too many bipolar workers are not comfortable revealing their condition. If you’re having difficulty, please let us know, but don’t feel you need to hide your moods. It is protected in the United States under the Americans With Disabilities Act, while in Canada it is protected under provincial Human Rights Acts. I think it is difficult for people to underestimate the amount of fear that many people with mental illnesses feel that we will rejected if people knew that we had a mental illness. These aren’t ways that people normally behave, but they aren’t functionally relevant either. The accommodations you need will depend on your job and how your condition affects you. If another employee complains that a bipolar worker is acting strangely, but the bipolar person has not disclosed to that employee, then employers should not disclose on the bipolar person’s behalf. Bipolar Disorder: What Employers Need to Know about Work Accommodations by Dr. Di Ann Sanchez | Jan 20, 2014 | HR Compliance , Talent Management The Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended (ADAAA) comes into play since bipolar disorder is listed among the conditions that are presumed to be a disability under the law. As the culture changes, what appears reasonable will change. After all, it is impossible to get more proactive than that. For some people this will be an afternoon here and there, and for others it might include weeks while they seek more intensive psychiatric treatment. In a workplace environment this is not only a fear of social rejection but fear of harming their careers and even of losing their jobs. Lastly, people with binge eating disorder regularly lose control, eating vast quantities of food in a short amount of time without feeling the need to purge or exercise excessively. That’s really great to hear that it worked out. Bipolar employees may need more flexible schedules, including ways of trading off work with others and making up for missed work (to a point). So, employers should let their employees know proactively that they will not discriminate against the mentally ill and that accommodations are available. Behavior of bipolar people can be roughly divided up into two categories: those that affect functioning that those that are merely a little strange. When you have bipolar disorder, ask for accommodation. For many people with bipolar disorder, a quiet and relaxed workspace can help them to maintain regular schedules which can improve overall functioning. One thing to note here is that part-time doesn’t mean contract or temporary work. As our employment environment becomes increasingly inequitable, employers have less and less incentive to accommodate us. Thank you for this. If you’re speaking a little fast that day or want to read with your head in your hands, that’s absolutely fine. One problem that a lot of full-time bipolar people face is that it is difficult to get therapeutic and psychiatric appointments outside of work hours. I have been in a stressful, demanding workplace for the past seven years. It is surprisingly difficult in some workplaces to use the telephone in a private manner, but without the ability to do so, we cannot both take care of our therapeutic needs and maintain our privacy. Anxiety disorders are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and may make you eligible for accommodations to help compensate for … I heard this week after being on disability for 4 months last year that my job will not make the accommodations requested. A page buried somewhere on the HR website that was obviously written by lawyers makes it look like our employers are just trying not to get in trouble, not that they want to integrate us into the work environment. All Rights Reserved. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. Depending on the severity of the condition and needs, there are different ways to handle this complete inability to work. There are general workplace accommodations that need to be put in place in order to ensure that people with bipolar disorder feel comfortable disclosing so as to get the accommodations they might need. I would love to be able to take care of myself, financially, emotionally and work at this job and not worry that every time a depression flares up that I will lose my livelihood and job that I really enjoy. Unless we are having a severe hypomanic episode or a manic episode, we will usually be perfectly intelligible while doing this. Many bipolar employees may appreciate the ability to move to part-time work that suits the severity of their condition. I would love to be able to work consistently and now have the Earth swallow me whole when the depression hits. Part one, which discusses disclosure and stigma can be found here. This can be a bit of a slippery slope, if it leads to the situation in which we are working all of the time, but the ability to move some work around to nonstandard hours can be helpful in some situations. People can work on salary and not work from nine to five daily. During this time I have had three different Managers. Applicants need to know whether or not they will be welcomed in the workplace, as they are making an important decision about their futures, too. I consider our strange behaviors to be just like skin color. Maybe Canada is working on something and I just don’t know about it but there are so many days where I wish to be at work but honestly just feel like I can not be there. Others may have a few per year, in which case, more leaves may need to be added to what is standardly available. To qualify for protection under the ADA, your situation must meet the following conditions. I think one of the things that an employer could ever say to me is something like, “And don’t worry at all. Second, many bipolar workers do not even know what accommodations to request. As a result, they need to find ways of letting all of their workers know that the work environment does not discriminate against those with mental illnesses and that accommodations are available. Employers committed to accommodation need to consider how to ease the process of disclosure. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that all schools must identify any students with special needs. In two weeks, I will meet with his school to facilitate a Section 504 plan, as recommended by the school counselor. A good example of this is the speed and enthusiasm with which we talk. In these cases, the goal is to find ways to make up lost work when possible. Bipolar disorder affects mood, but it can also have an impact on stress levels and thinking ability. The more proactive the provision of this information is, the better. After all, accommodation is impossible unless employees feel comfortable disclosing. Required fields are marked *. Bipolar people may not disclose during the job interview process (and they are in no way required to do so), but it will make them much more likely to disclose once hired if they were told at some point in the selection process. You just need to know that bipolar doesn't equal accommodation. Common Accommodations for Depression and Anxiety. In other words, they are obliged to take up to moderately difficult, active steps in order to ensure that people with bipolar disorder are able to perform their jobs. I would exhaust my paid sick leave and then require unpaid leave. Bipolar disorder is a treatable illness. How to make this work will depend heavily on the position. Accommodating Bipolar Disorder in the Workplace, Part III: Emotional Support, Accommodating Bipolar Disorder in the Workplace, Part I: Disclosure and Stigma, Time Management Skills for Bipolar People, Managing Bipolar Disorder Versus Muscling Through It: Lessons From a Recent Episode. However, this undermines the principles of accommodating mental illnesses. Unfortunately, accommodation for mental illness is still in its infancy, if one can even call it that. Or, if you need to take frequent breaks for meditation and breathing exercises to control an anxiety disorder, you might not realize that your absence has been noted and is creating problems. Accommodations for Students with Bipolar Disorder and Related Disabilities Not all students who have disabilities require specialized instruction. Source; PubMed; Authors: Carol … By following these steps, it is easier to create a work environment in which bipolar people feel comfortable. It is never easy to reach out for help and initially I felt extremely nervous about asking for accommodation because I felt that people were watching me walk up to the disability line and perhaps a few of them even saw me crying. The other thing is you will need a note from your doctor confirming you have a mental illness. Because bipolar is effectively a periodic disability in most cases, there will be times when we can work at full effectiveness (and sometimes more-than-full effectiveness, thanks to hypomania) and there may be other times when our work will be impaired or it is impossible to work entirely. That creates the problem of work “piling up”, which can be especially problematic for someone coming back from a few days off for psychiatric reasons. Workers with bipolar disorders can be as productive and successful as any other worker. A lot of the time, we conflate these two. This provides employees with job security and peace of mind, and provides employers with a stable work force. How Bipolar Disorder Affects Cognition and Learning Bipolar disorder is a chronic, lifetime condition that can be managed, but not cured, with medication and lifestyle changes. This can be done in a number of ways, such as by putting together a memo that is sent out annually, by putting up a sign on a prominent bulletin board, by sending out a letter or by simply announcing it at a staff meeting. If we fear discrimination from anyone, we are less likely to disclose. In principle, employers are obliged to make reasonable accommodations for any disability, mental illness included. This saved my job. This would need to be done by mutual consent between the employer and employee, as to simply insist that a bipolar employee move to part time with less pay would be discriminatory. 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