How to Protect Yourself Against Mental Health Discrimination at Work
Mental Health Discrimination Can Be Sneaky, Here’s How To Beat It 👊
Do you live with a mental illness and worry about how it might affect your career? Mental health discrimination at work remains as present as other forms of discrimination.
You weren’t taught how to deal with these situations growing up, but you can learn now. Here’s what mental health discrimination looks like and what to do if it happens to you.
What Is Mental Health Discrimination At Work?
It can be hard to know if discrimination is happening. Sometimes you might feel like something is wrong, but not know what it is. Knowing what mental health discrimination looks like helps you protect yourself against it. The different types of mental health discrimination include direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, and discrimination arising from disability.
Direct Discrimination
The most common form of mental health discrimination is direct discrimination. While this may be easier to recognize, you may still question whether it counts.
Examples of direct discrimination:
- Your supervisor treats you differently than your coworkers because of your mental health condition
- You always get overlooked for promotions in favor of other, less-qualified employees
- You experience harassment from your boss or coworkers for having a mental illness
If any of these things happen to you at work, you could be experiencing discrimination. However, signs of intolerance aren’t always as obvious as the examples listed above.
Indirect Discrimination
Indirect discrimination is a bit harder to recognize. This form of discrimination is much more subtle. And it happens at a policy level. A company policy can cause significant disadvantages to those dealing with mental illness. This goes against fair treatment and is discrimination.
Discrimination Arising From Disability
Your employer can’t punish you based on your mental health. Discipline for behavior caused by a mental health disability is considered discrimination arising from a disability. They can’t judge you the same way as someone who doesn’t have a mental health disability. This frequently shows up in unfair negative performance reviews
But what prevents companies from taking advantage of those living with mental illness? Workplace rights shield you from this kind of unjust treatment.
What Are Your Workplace Rights?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against anyone with a disability INCLUDING mental health disabilities.
Some of your most important rights to remember:
- Your employer CAN’T fire you for having a mental health diagnosis
- Your employer can’t refuse you promotions based on symptoms of your mental health
- Your employer can’t share your private health information without your approval
Also, you can ask for changes to your work environment or routine if it allows you to do your job better. The ADA requires employers to approve accommodations if it doesn’t cause the company extreme hardship.
Ask For Reasonable Accommodation
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “a reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done during the hiring process.”
A reasonable accommodation for mental health could look like:
- Using an alternative schedule, such as going into the office later and staying later
- Allowing your service/emotional support animal to be with you in the office
- Working from home instead of working in the office space
Filing for a reasonable accommodation involves different procedures from company to company. Be sure to ask your Human Resources (HR) department for specific filing instructions.
Remember…
- No one can discuss your personal mental health information without your permission
- HR files accommodation requests in a separate location from the rest of the regular files
- You DO NOT need to tell your coworkers or your boss why you have an accommodation
Another way to learn about work-related mental health rights is with social media. It’s a great place to find experts on employment law.
Learn From Employment Lawyers on Social Media
Let the experts translate the legal jargon into something that’s easier to understand. TikTok and YouTube are great platforms to find these kinds of accounts. It’s an amazing resource right at your fingertips — use it!
If your mental health starts to interfere with everyday life, you do have options. But experiencing discrimination can feel overwhelming.
What Do You Do if You Think You’re Experiencing Discrimination?
Dealing with mental health discrimination feels awful. But you don’t have to continue to suffer through it. Here’s how you take charge and fight back.
Document EVERYTHING, Yes Everything
If you suspect discrimination you need to document, document, document! If you don’t know whether something counts as discrimination, document it anyway. Record the details and the dates they happened. This makes things way easier down the line if you want to file a complaint or take legal action.
Documentation acts as your first line of defense against mental health discrimination. But it’s also important to focus on your mental health outside of work too.
Don’t Forget to Take Care of Yourself
Living with mental illness is already a huge pain in the butt. Increased stress from discrimination can cause symptoms of mental illnesses to get worse. It’s normal to have a negative reaction to being treated less than for something you can’t control.
Taking care of yourself:
- Talk to someone you trust and tell them what’s been going on at work — ask for support
- Make time for things you love to do outside of work (hobbies, social events, etc.)
- Seek professional help through therapy
If your job offers it, you can talk to someone in the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Anything you tell them is confidential, except for certain situations when they determine you may be a danger to yourself or others or if they suspect child/elder abuse. In this situation, EAP peers must report to necessary parties for safety reasons.
EAP can help you navigate through reporting mental health discrimination at your specific company. There’s a reason laws were put in place protecting people against mental health discrimination (because it’s wrong!!).
You Deserve an Inclusive Work Environment
Bottom line — mental health conditions should be treated at work with the same amount of respect as any physical disability. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Mental illness affects the everyday life of those who live with it.
You have the right to an inclusive work environment that gives you equal opportunity to do your job.
You should never have to watch your mental health deteriorate for a job. It’s okay to quit and leave if you’ve hit your limit. This isn’t letting your employer win, this is taking control of what you CAN to improve the quality of your life. You deserve better and provide value wherever you work. You got this!
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For more on mental health — check out our article on Science-Backed Reasons Why Nature Improves Your Mental Health.
