Workplace Accommodations for Employees with PTSD Q & A
If you experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you are eligible for workplace accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While not everyone with PTSD will require accommodations, there are many options available for dealing with fatigue, stress, poor concentration, memory loss, and anxiety. Read about these workplace accommodations for employees with PTSD.
Workplace Accommodations for PTSD Common Questions
Do I Need Workplace Accommodations for My PTSD?
If there are times when you struggle to meet workplace requirements due to PTSD symptoms, times when workplace environments or situations intensify your PTSD symptoms, or you find yourself avoiding or dreading certain work situations, you may benefit from accommodations (For Mental Illness, Should I Check the Disability Box?).
How Do I Discuss Workplace Accommodations with My Employer?
After I had worked for several months as a supervisor in a mental health setting, I realized I needed to request workplace accommodations to continue my job effectively while maintaining my mental health.
It was not an easy decision for me to come forward to my employer with my mental health concerns (Disclosing Mental Illness at Work, or How to Get Fired). Despite the protections in place with the ADA and my employer's dedication to a positive work environment, I still feared being labeled and treated differently by my supervisor and human resources representative. However, the reality was that I was spending a great deal of physical and mental effort to either hide or compensate for symptoms that could lessen with some basic changes.
You may make a request for accommodations at any time. Your employer may have a specific protocol in place for requesting accommodations and you may need to ask your supervisor or human resources contact person how to submit a request. In any case, you will be required to provide documentation of your disability. This documentation does not need to contain details. Your diagnosis and a statement from your practitioner that you have a substantial limitation to one or more major life activities should be adequate. In my case, my employer only requested proof of my diagnosis.
What Are Reasonable Workplace Accommodations for PTSD?
According to the ADA, reasonable accommodations are those that do not provide an "undue hardship" to the employer. There is not set formula for what is considered a hardship, this is determined on a case-by-case basis.
Here are some accommodations for PTSD symptoms that are typically very easy to implement:
- Flexible scheduling
- Noise canceling devices
- Written instructions and requests
- Allowing for phone calls to support persons during the work day
- Modifying break schedules
- Allowing assistance animals
- Modifying workplace lighting
- Repositioning desk, cubicle, or office location
- Disability awareness training for staff
- Organizational tools
- Time management training
- Allowing music or headsets
- Reducing non-essential job functions (i.e. Sunshine Committee, cleaning schedules)
- Regularly scheduled supervision/feedback
- Consistent shift scheduling
- Providing a mentor
After requesting accommodations, I found that I was able to continue working productively. It was reassuring to me that my employer was aware of my needs and willing to work with me.
Do you find that your PTSD symptoms make some aspects of work more challenging? What accommodations would make things easier? Please leave a comment and let us know.
See Also:
APA Reference
Hollowood, T.
(2017, May 3). Workplace Accommodations for Employees with PTSD Q & A, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, December 3 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/traumaptsdblog/2017/05/workplace-accommodations-for-people-with-posttraumatic-stress-disorder
Author: Tia Hollowood
I was on FMLA which caused problems with my job to the point I had to go and work the night shift. This was not related to my CPTSD. They had supplemnental workers so I don't understand why my position was not a valuable. My medication is all mixed up and it makes me sick., sleeping is a big issue since I am unable to really sleep during then day. I think I heard someone just went to day shift and I have more senority., will working dayshift count as an accommodation?
I have difficulty calling in sick or late to work. I can text, but sometimes I can't get out of bed or am to anxious to talk to a live person. I've lost jobs due to No Call, No Show infractions. I also have immense difficulty in accuracy. I make simple mistakes frequently.
Wendy, an allowable accommodation would be for you to text the appropriate person when Ill as opposed to calling.
No notice, no show would definitely be a different matter.
Extra time to allow for accuracy checks on work might be an accommodation. Certainly checklists etc. would help.
Much of it depends on the nature of what you do. For example, if you are a cashier, a server, someone in accounts etc. - something that demands accuracy - then it does fall back on the concept of employees having adequate skills in the areas required for the job. If you continue to have difficulty with simple mistakes, even with accommodations such as organizers, checklists, written instructions , etc. , then it becomes an issue outside of the realm of accommodations. There are some things we are not wired to do.
I had a job which required me to use the phone a LOT. I do not like talking on the phone. However, the nature of the job was such that there were no practical alternatives. The use of verbal communication over the phone was an essential component of the job. I took the job, and almost immediately realized it was a mistake. I am simply not wired to be comfortable on the phone.
If there is a vocational rehab. service where you live, they can help you find the skills and the job to fit your capabilities. One of my friends just finished college, and it was all paid for by vocational rehab. They helped her find the best fit for work.
I have problems on verbal commands I am a truck Driver, it'd i am suing parking maneuver outs take a me awhile to get it
I wish the * company I work with had done that for before they pressure me to quit my job a.k.a the business leader.