Article Summary

Under federal law, employers must make reasonable adjustments for employees with certain mental health problems, including depression and bipolar disorder. Some of these conditions may not be obvious to an employer, however. To take full advantage of the law, employees should inform their managers about their qualifying disabilities.

This article by TELG former principal Tom Harrington (Ret.) and TELG managing principal R. Scott Oswald was published by HealthNewsDigest.com on April 21, 2015. The full article is .

The article also was published by The Lund Report on May 5, 2015.

Excerpted from:

Dismissiveness of Mental Illness in the Workplace and Protections for Employees

When we think of "mental health" problems, many of us envision obvious symptoms. But mental health presents challenges precisely because it can be almost impossible to observe. This can become a problem in the workplace when an employee experiences intense anxiety or panic due to the stress of the position, and management simply expects these individuals to "walk it off." Because observers often cannot see the employee's turmoil, they may be dismissive, leading to a worsening working environment, poor relationships, and a less productive employee. In this situation, everybody loses.