Disclosure Of Bipolar Disorder To An Employer

I "came out" last fall to my direct supervisor about my having Bipolar and she was okay with it.  Reason why is that she had mentioned a week earlier, in casual conversation, that her mom was Bipolar out the max and was having trouble taking her BP meds along with chemo.

 

The reason why the labor law attorney advises that you not disclose during the interview is because while an employer can not discriminate on the basis of blah blah blah - they can not offer you a job and give a reason of "we found someone whose qualifications fit our needs more readily" or "we chose to go with another candidate due to (his/her) credentials", etc..

 

Employers can not fire an employee with a stated documented disability and/or handicap due to the Americans with Disabilities Act.  They also, once it is disclosed/documented, must provide reasonable accomodations so that the employee can perform his/her job.  However, employers can get around this legal thing by stating that they are releasing you because you aren't able to perform your job satisfactorily, or they make it "hard" on you to the point you quit or mess up, or they release you based on your attendance (keep eye on tardies and such). 

 

It is best if you disclose after you get the job but once you do - you have to be aware of potential consequences and yes - your supervisor/manager/director will be informed.  The larger amount of people knowing your business - the larger amount of risk that someone will tell someone and so on and so on and so on....

 

I've had this happen to me twice - once for carpal tunnel and once for mental.  I wasn't fired due to my disabilities/illness.  I was fired because of tardies and job performance issues (though was awarded an outstanding employee throughout my work tenure in both places).

And really only once had a problem. And then it was a big problem. Real bad harrassment to the point that I left. Couldn't prove anything though. All the other times I didn't come out until I needed to take time off and then I told them. I was always an outstanding employee and they just told me to get better and come back. Really I just needed breaks because the meds were kicking my *** and I was exhausted. I worked in mental health as a social worker and never felt like I was treated differently after revealing my condition. But I still don't, in general, recommend it. I think I was lucky. I was also very competent at what I did. I think that made a big difference. If people have any difficulty in fuctioning it would just make people look for faults.

I spent a number of years in upper management as well as sitting on a panel of HR representatives of groups of workers in a non-union workplace. Personally I would never disclose that information until it was absolutely necessary. What you have to keep in mind when being viewed by upper management is what are the normal costs associated with hiring someone with a mental health issue and someone not.

 

 

We are: More apt to have issues with being able to complete the jobs at certain times of the year, more strain on health care and higher prescription costs especially if the company self insures its workers (becoming very common).

 

They look at lost time due to the illness and time away from work for dr. appointments. And I am going to be totally candor in that even when we are taking our medications it can still get out of whack to the point of where we can create turmoil  and create tension within a team (team work is now the norm at most jobs).

 

Sure people that aren’t mentally ill still bring issues such as addictions, family and financial problems to the work place that can cause the above problems, but we are still considered a higher risk and higher cost employee.

 

 

Employers can’t discriminate legally…but there are enough loopholes around it. You also have to understand by not putting down your illness, you are basically lying at the point of hire and can actually be fired for doing so. You and only you can make that decision.

 

 

Yes G.J. … you immediate supervisor has to be aware of any limitations or condition that could effect your performance. And with most lower management supervisors, gossiping at the water cooler is pretty much the norm and most if not all your fellow workers will soon know you have a mental illness.

I told H.R about my disorder and I have left work a couple times on medical leave. Its the talk of the store and they make fun of my ups and downs. It's unfair, but I can't do anything about it. I'm not going to quit because of it. I put in too much time and my health insurance, Vacations and other benifits are to important. I say don't say anything......... I'm going thru Hell.

Dear GJ

Thank you for bringing this up.

 I personally have had a horrid experience with revealing anything to my employer...and to be honest, she was a childhood friend that became principal in our local school where we both graduated from and both were employed at. 

 I held my position as teacher for 11 and half years, but about the time she became principal i began really having serious symptoms that didn't allow me to be present at work...she was NOT understanding and made it clear to me all the horror stories that she has heard about Bipolar patients and how she doesn't think that is conducive to being a teacher...NO KIDDING>>>and to be honest, not to toot my own horn here, but the kids AND the teachers nominated me as Teacher of the Year...and I won!

It was a great accomplishment to me..however when i became aware that my boss knew of my disorder (which I DIDN"T tell her and don't know how she found out except we live in a very very small town) she was distant, rude, watched everything i did to the point of making me even more paranoid, manic, and well it all ended up with me in the bathroom floor of the teachers latrine and in full blown panic attack and excessive breakdown crying....i fortunately felt it coming and left my room in the care of another teacher.

The killer part of it all is this....when i went to the State Board to get a disability....which i can not be depended on to be at work each day and my symptoms do not allow me the ability to hold down a job now...

They were oblivious to and NOT the LEAST BIT compassionate or the least bit accomodating and get this I DIDN"T GET THE DISABILITY from them although in the actual meeting the woman in charge asked me and i quote "If you had a MAGIC wand would you make this illness go away?"  NOW what does that have to do with qualifying for a disability...anyway, she verbally made it clear that the problems i face as a Bipolar (although their doctor THEY chose would only say i had a Personality Disorder NOS) would not be conducive to a classroom....

UH DUH that is why i was there...I know i can't work, i know there are days that just getting out of bed is all i am going to be able to accomplish, i know the anger outburst, the crying spells, the visual and auditory delusions are not conducive to teaching or any other job i am qualified to do...therefore i am unemployed with a MASTERS degree (4.0 gpa too!) and yet i can't work.

My advice to you GJ although I don't have all the experience you do and I have failed in my ability to control this BP to the point of gainful employment is this....either contact the American Disability depts or DON"T TELL>>>>>not kidding....no one understands this disorder and the more i see on television and the more i read about our disorder for I am a staunch researcher on this problem we all face....i find discrimination is RAGING on this...all the Oprah's and Katie Courics and reporters doing what they think is a big news story or trying to help...not sure their motive...is making things worse...people don't research on their own about this unless they have it I believe, therefore they listen and believe all they hear in the media, and my friend, the MEDIA is NOT our friend that is for sure....

There are advocate groups for the disabled that will come in and rake them over the coals for not accomodating you but trust me, you'll then be the guy who created a situation and in my situation it seemed all avoided me or seemed uncomfortable around me all of a sudden when previously they were comrades....so be very careful GJ please...very careful....tread lightly and i hate to say it for how sad that we have to wear a mask each day when we're already suffering enough.....but my advice and it may not be a good one...is this....beware and keep discrete....but that is from someone who went through discrimination and mistreatment of the system and is rather uhm paranoid now due to the ordeal....

please GJ be careful....very very careful....I only wish you the best and hope that your employer is a little more uhm HUMAN than mine was....good luck to you my friend...you have such a good attitude it would be THEIR loss...but take care, please!

ctrygirl

My support group facilitator works for the Cdn, BC provincial gov't.  After she came back to work after being of for BD, they tried to force her into a much lesser job.  She went to the union & won.  She has since then been promoted even further & has been working full time for quite some time now.  She is very active with the Moods Disorder Association here in BC, and through that, I'm sure she has made many contacts who have helped her protect her rights along the way.  However, it should be noted that she has always been very careful in the way that she has told only her boss's boss & no one else knows about her illness.

 

I work for the Cdn federal gov't.  One of my co-workers had to go to court with regards to her ADHD when she was trying to get promoted back up to a job she had done previously for many yrs before her 2-yr disability leave. She did eventually win, and she then decided to head up the "Disability Committee" at my work, but she told me its true mandate was not as helpful as she would've expected, so she eventually stepped down - she had thought the committee would serve to increase awareness and educate employees and supervisors on accommodations, but this 'committee' was basically just lip service to make the employer look good and the committee's bite has no teeth, apparently (now it's actually been combined with 3 other 'minority' committees, rendering it even more useless and ineffective).

 

Being open with my illness at work has definitely been a big 2-edged sword, since some co-workers have made it obvious they resent the 'special treatment' I get, which just means more work for them - and in fact, I've seen supervisors purposely make the accommodations even more glaring & at the expense of others, just to make it even harder for the disabled person, I'm guessing so that others will think twice before coming fwd with their own disability.

 

I'm not sure if Canada is any better than the US (I live in Vancouver, BC), but insurance companies make money for a reason, don't they. (The movie "Sicko" was quite interesting on this subject.) 

 

I don't think anyone would want to have to fight this fight unless absolutely necessary, but I feel I have no choice, having had several breakdowns at work and unable to think clearly & do my job - so I'd rather just come clean... I'd rather be seen as sick than incompetent...and it has already been so rewarding, as it turns out, making friends & finding support both in and outside of the workplace, who are helping me in this quest to get proper accommodation and entitlement to my disability payments. 

I don't have a lot of choice.  I need accomodations, particularly flex time.  I need both to be able to flex my start time and to be able to sometimes see people on weekends rather than weekdays.  I've also had the non-ending battle regarding effeciencies.

 

I used the tell them the first day approach for both this job and my last.  Oddly my supervisor was the same person both times, but in this company she is not someone who is very involved like she was in the last company. 

 

With the last company they were great with all of it most of the time I worked for them.  At the end there were financial crunches and a lot of weird stuff going on and they tried to push me and demand more than I could give.  I was told that I hadn't gotten things in writing so I had no recourse.  That wasn't really true.

 

The first company was very good about letting me do what I needed to keep my energy levels good.  If I had a bad day it was easy to move things around and work 5 hours then increase the next few days.  However, the last months I was there they couldn't have cared less.  So I left.

 

My current company is structured differently.  I mainly was doing ok when this episode hit, but I don't get a lot of give.  I did start this job presenting my limits in writing (things like I am not allowed to work overtime, I need flex time, when it's hot I need extra breaks, etc).  This time around I think I'm given less of a chance, and that bipolar is often blamed when a real problem doesn't necessarily exist.  However, I'm sure my company doesn't see it that way. 

 

I wish keeping it secret were feasible, but it's not for me.  And in some ways that is ok.  I'd rather my coworkers know if I wind up excessively upset, which happens, what that is.  If I am in trouble for anything I will more than likely cry if I'm having mood swings.  Plus I have little things like my eyes look like I'm on hefty drugs and I feel better that they know I'm not an addict.

 

Telling may not make me popular, but it's my only way I can survive.  Telling also gives me some control of what is told and to whom.  The only time I really had trouble with it being known was when I was on disability and the assistant from hell told everyone a bunch of half-truths.  At that point I was told I wasn't allowed to work in a group of facilities.  That was terrible, but it turned out to let me enjoy working in the psych facilities so it was good in the longterm.

 

Anyway, my overall experience:  wish I didn't have to tell, but generally it's been fine.

You land that "dream job" with a dream interview where you are in flow and communicate like you are in tune with the interviewer.  The guy rings you when you get home to say he wants to offer you the job .. just checking with his boss because you are a bit short on one qualification ... next day all OKed ... get your medical done !

There started the anxiety .. big BIG BIG style ... no sleep for 5 days ... hospital under a Mental Health Order i.e. taken away in a police van !!!

Job gone ?  NO, three months off sick from my old job - new job kept open - just had to have a chat with "a company doctor of their choice" - who called my new boss in my perscence to say "can't promise that this won't happen again, BUT you will get more out of this guy than the average".

NOT disclosing PUTS YOU UNDER STRESS !!

Treat Bipolar just as if it were diabetes - you CAN become unwell if you do not take the right actions.

Keeping this under your hat is not the right action ... disclose with care, but have confidence in your own ability.  Remember IF they turn you down because of this, if you had a problem would they be the sort of company that would find an excuse to turf you out anyway.  Bipoar people often excel at their jobs ...

 Working for a big Electrical Company and Union, it would be okay to disclose my illness with the foreman.

 Well I did disclose it to the foreman, he ask what he could do if attack from my illness. I told that we do not have attacks what we need is not to have to many stress factories with my job. So after I told him they put me in charge of four other man to do a job.

  I took a vacation to take a brake and the heat of the summer. When I return to the job working at NIGHT (not good) and no A.C.

in the Buildings.  The heat was getting to me than the foreman put someone else in charge and I started to work with the other man on the job. The Heat was getting to me so I started to feel my levels rises.  I called my foreman and told that I was not doing good with my Bipolar. He told me to pack an go home and take care of myself. ( Lost a Brother from Drug over dose, he was bipolar)

  Than phoning the General foreman telling and I told him that I night shift and was not good for me,and I was not feeling good and was told to go home.  The next day  I went to V.A. to see what was going on My levels were getting toxic. The V.A. doctor than order that the company put on day shift and that could return to work in three days.

 The next day after I sent a fax to the Project manager and The Union. I received a call from the project manager saying that they would find a day job from me. Thinking that I was okay with my job. I wanted for a few more days to hear from my employer and I they fired staying that I was not doing my job. I called the Union an they would not help. So I would not disclose this Information to a employer and a Union that will not help the disabled. 

  It is so Important that we have to be careful with this Illness and with employers.

  We need to educate the employers and the unions.  I will not diclose to these  companys or union till they are educated for people with disabilities.

G.J.,

A very good question, and a very good scenario you presente. I am in a similar situation, and I realize the anguish you must be feeling.

I am a United Methodist pastor, a career change that only took place 7 years ago. Prior to this I worked in various areas of manufacturing management. In that environment nobody really cared, as long as my job was done in a satisfactory manner. However, as a pastor, I feel the disclosure would be career-ending. And eventhough I have done it successfully over the past 7 years, disclosure would have people questioning every decision, every suggestion and every activity. I guess the litmus testr people would use then is, "Is what he is saying due to his illness?" Not a fair question, but realistic.

I hate myself for not "coming out". I feel that I am being hypocritical at a time where I should stand up. But I am weak and, unfortunately, poor. I guess we have to decide what cost we are willing to pay. My wife once told me that, when making a decision, there are two questions you need to ask yourself. 1. What is the worst that could happen? 2. Can I live with the results? If the answer to both is "yes", then you've already made your decision. All that would be required then is action!

I have two scenarios that have happened to me. One, I worked at Goodwill Industries, who hires people with disabilites, including mental illness. They were aware of my condition because I was hired with the help of my therapist after experiencing a relapse. Anyway, I worked there for a year +, I was a very good employee who was promoted to manager and elected employee of the year. Anyway, I had another relapse because my doctor had been overdosing me to try to find the proper treatment for me as I am a difficult patient. I took a leave of absence for six weeks and recieved ECTs. When I returned to work, I was demoted and given part time hours. Itried to convince them that I was capable of fulltime hours and full duties. I eventually had to quit and work in a lumber mill as a result. Second scenario, I am currently working in a warehouse, finishing college,taking care of my daughter and feeling very close to the verge of a breakdown. I have told my employer of my condition as a precaution of a relapse, they would understand. Well, in addition to all of the stresses I mentioned above, I am working a lot of mandatory overtime, I have expressed to my supervisor that I am feeling ill and I need to get to a doctor before I relapse, in order to prevent a total breakdown. My supervisor tells me that I am making my own problems and that business is more important. She even has a degree in Psychology!

I once informed an employer of my disgnosis because it was either that or I was going to be reprimanded for my disorganization, and minor errors.  It was the biggest mistake....My displaced district manager informed my locally based training coordinator.  She wasted no time in letting me know what had been passed to her-and not in the right ways. (it didn't help that she didn't like me to begin with!)

 

The first day, we were doing a routine bag check (it was a women's boutique) and she noticed my Geodon.  In front of two others, she loudly exclaims "Wow, that's some serious stuff there."

 

Over the next week, at least once a day, she used the word 'manic' in something she said to me, i.e., "So busy!  Wasn't that a manic day (my name here)?" or "I'm so excited, I'm feeling manic!!"

 

It was maybe just over four weeks later I was fired for "misplaced 'void' slips."

 

Don't ever work for a ladies' apparel store that is based out of Houston, TX.......

 

I find myself now working for a friend, so thins are more flexible with my being late, but I was just recently stripped of some of my responsibilities due to poor organization and lack of concentration.  My first inclination was to tell her it wasn't my fault and why...I knew I was doing too much, but i was going to ask for a raise for doing everything I was in charge of....

 

Needless to say, I won't be asking for one now.....  I want to tell them because they are friends as well as employers(ees).  But I fear that they will either pity me and just let me do the minimal and giving me cheers for accomplishing the basics, or I will be out of a job.

 

This is the third time this has happened to me....i'm starting to wonder if holding a job is something I can do for much longer...and I'm only 25.....

Hello

I wanted to share my input on this topic. As I read your words, I was identified. It has very much been a concern for me since I first thought bipolar was what was happening to me and even more now that I have been fully diagnosed, treated, understood and coped with it. I wonder what I would do if I needed to get a new job, let me tell you: would be completely horrified as to when and why to come out and be able then to express my complete feelings regarding my condition and its stages.

However, this changes depending on your superior and on the place you work at. Being an American Express employee has positively changed my odds of my illness seen as a disability; as this is a respectful, worried about privacy, diversity oriented, even called 'great place to work'. I found out telling my leader about my condition (and no one else, as you never know which of your coworkers might turn against you) helped me out in a lot of ways. She respects me even more as this was seen as me being a honest, reliable employee who would not hesitate to trust on her leader. I was recently given unscheduled and needed 2-week vacations as I was experiencing side effects for a new medication I needed to manage on my own; while this caused moderate inconveniences at my work team, it had a bright side for my company: At my return, my commitment and love for this job, my reliance on my leader and American Express as well, as a company which understands me and I would think twice to leave.

It happened to me. Hoping you all the same, and tons of light,