Does it matter what your reasons are when deciding to disclose (or not disclose) a disability at work? The association of workers’ approach and avoidance goals with perceived positive and negative workplace outcomes

Abstract

Deciding whether to disclose a disability to others at work is complex. Many chronic mental and physical health conditions are associated with episodic disability and include times of relative wellness punctuated by intermittent periods of activity limitations. This research draws on the disclosure processes model to examine approach and avoidance disclosure and non-disclosure goals and their association with perceived positive and negative workplace outcomes. Participants were 896 employed individuals (57.7% women) living with a chronic physical or mental health/cognitive condition. They were recruited from an existing national panel and completed an online, cross-sectional survey. Participants were asked about disclosure decisions, reasons for disclosure/non-disclosure, demographic, work context and perceived positive and negative disclosure decision outcomes (e.g., support, stress, lost opportunities). About half the sample (51.2%) had disclosed a disability to their supervisor. Decisions included both approach and avoidance goals. Approach goals (e.g., desire support, want to build trust, maintain the status quo at work) were significantly associated with perceived positive work outcomes regardless of whether a participant disclosed or did not disclose a disability at work, while avoidance goals (e.g., concerns about losing one’s job, feeling forced to disclose because others notice a problem) were associated with perceived negative work outcomes. The findings highlight benefits and challenges that workers perceive arise when they choose to disclose or not disclose personal health information. By better understanding disclosure decisions, we can inform organizational health privacy and support gaps to help sustain the employment of people living with disabilities.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, financial worries, and perceived organizational support among people living with disabilities in Canada

“…Issues of workplace disclosure of a disability and accommodation needs are receiving increased attention in disability research. 21 , 22 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 They highlight that challenges encountered by people living with a disability go beyond the symptoms and limitations created by health conditions, and revolve around perceptions of support, concerns about reprisals if a disability is disclosed, and other psychosocial work factors. 21 , 35 , 38…”

“…Workers living with a disability will report significantly different work context and job conditions than workers with no disability. 21 , 22 , 23 This includes less income, less job control, being less willing to share work-related support needs, and greater job stress and perceived job lock.…”

Workplace improvements to support safe and sustained return to work: Suggestions from a survey of workers with permanent impairments

“…Physical disability is the most common reason to exit the workforce before age 60 55 . Further, many workers do not choose to disclose their disability or impairment to supervisors and/or coworkers; 22,56 thus, workplace‐level interventions, versus individually tailored interventions, may positively impact more workers without requiring disclosure 57 . Moreover, workplace‐level improvements in these factors may benefit all workers, whether they have a disability or not 34 .…”

Support for depression in the workplace: Perspectives of employees, managers, and OHS personnel

“…In addition, there are a number of episodic physical and mental health conditions that have intermittent symptoms and are largely invisible to others, which could benefit from the types of accommodations described in this study on depression (e.g., Inflammatory Bowel Disease, anxiety disorders). Ongoing research by members of our team have revealed the need for similar accommodations and concomitant challenges in implementing such accommodations (Gignac et al, 2021a;Gignac et al, 2021b;Van Eerd et al, 2020). Workplace parties often consider workplace culture to be an important element in the accommodation of episodic health conditions (Corbière et al, 2016;Corbière et al, 2014;Gignac et al, 2021a).…”