ADA covers ‘invisible disabilities,’ too — but workers are reluctant to disclose them

The Americans with Disabilities Act marked its 33rd year as law in July, requiring companies to accommodate employees with disabilities, including what are called invisible disabilities.

About 16% of U.S. workers identify as having one or more invisible disability, according to the Alexandria-based Society for Human Resource Management. Those types of disabilities are wide-ranging.

“They are disabilities you cannot see by just looking at someone,” said SHRM chief of staff and head of public affairs Emily Dickens. “It could be autism. It could be someone who has dyslexia. Actually ADHD, OCD, depression, diabetes or even something like chronic migraines.”

Despite ADA-required coverage of invisible disabilities, 47% of workers who have such disabilities have not disclosed it to their manager or co-workers.

“Here is why: 34% think people will scrutinize their behavior, 31% say they think others will think they can’t fulfill their work responsibilities and 30% — I call this the schoolyard version — think people will talk about them behind their back,” Dickens said.

According to SHRM’s survey, those who have disclosed their invisible disabilities are around two to three times as likely as those without invisible disabilities to report experiencing incivility at work. That includes rudeness, disrespect or insensitive behavior from co-workers and supervisors.

Workers with invisible disabilities were nearly twice as likely to feel frequently excluded at work — 15% — compared to 8% of those without an invisible disability.

The nonprofit SHRM Foundation offers an Employing Abilities at Work Certificate, which includes actionable knowledge and tools to support the recruitment, hiring and retention of individuals with disabilities.

“You don’t know what you don’t know. And if you have not experienced it, it could be something very minor that is keeping you away from accessing some talent that just happens to have an invisible disability or some other form of disability. So it is a way to become more aware so you can look out for these things and create the most inclusive environment to recruit and retain your workers,” Dickens said.