Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do? : A Workplace Guide - 6

As a Person with a Mental Health Condition:
What Can I Do?
" I can ask for what I need to perform my best. "
If you're a person with a mental health condition, you can ask for
what you need to perform your best at work.
Sometimes, this might mean
requesting a reasonable
accommodation. Common
examples of accommodations
for people with mental health
conditions include flexible work
arrangements and/or schedules.
While employers covered by the
Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) are required to provide
reasonable accommodations,
it's your responsibility to request
them. When doing so, you do not
need to specify your condition.
You also do not need to mention
the ADA or use the word
" accommodation. " You should,
however, note that you are having
a challenge at work and that it
is related to a medical condition
or disability. You don't have to
talk to your supervisor to request
an accommodation; you may
prefer to go to someone in the
company's Human Resources or
Equal Employment Opportunity
office first.
An employer may request
documentation from a healthcare
professional. This documentation
also does not need to note a
specific diagnosis. Rather, the
documentation needs to establish
that you have a covered disability
and the extent to which this
limits your ability to perform
your job. Also know that, by law,
this information must be kept
confidential and separate from
your personnel file.
Depending on your employment
situation, your employer may invite
you to self-identify (via a form) as
a person with a disability. Just as
with deciding whether to request
an accommodation, choosing to
self-identify is a personal choice.
Such questions are permissible
only when being asked for
affirmative action purposes,
and the information must be
kept confidential and separate
from regular personnel files, in a
similar manner to a disclosure and
request for accommodation. But
such data can help companies
understand and respond to the
needs of their workforce better.
Finally, you may be in a position
to educate others about mental
health conditions. This requires
comfort disclosing, which again
is a personal choice. But, even
without disclosing, avenues for
advocacy might exist through
an employee resource group
(ERG) or workplace activities
around mental health and general
disability awareness.
What Can
You do?
THE CAMPAIGN FOR
DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT
WhatCanYouDoCampaign.org
https://www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org/
Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do? : A Workplace Guide

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do? : A Workplace Guide
