Workplace Accommodations for Mental Illness

Note: If you haven’t begun the process of requesting accommodations through your employer, I suggest checking out How to Ask for Workplace Accommodations first.

Now that you’ve begun the process of requesting accommodations and have started discussing your needs with your employer, you may feel unprepared about what accommodations you can actually ask for that are reasonable and necessary for your job position.

To help make this as useful as possible, I’ve put together some job accommodations together separated by the limitation you may be experiencing. Some of these are actions you can take yourself, others are actions you can take hand-in-hand with your employer to help make sure you are doing your job as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Managing Time

• Use calendars or planners to track out your daily tasks. Then use timers to keep yourself on the correct tasks at the correct times. Limit the amount of time you have to spend on each task.

• Requesting a cheat sheet of tasks that include tasks listed by priority to help maintain focus on what your manager prefers you spend your time doing or just general assistance with prioritization if work expectations and job duties are not consistent.

• Request to-do lists.

• PDA’s, notetakers, and laptops

Executive Functioning Deficits

• Use of electronics that help keep you focused and to minimize distractions: noise canceling headphones, white noise machines, app used to help concentration and focus.

• Request checklists for job duties or tasks.

• Request the assistance of a job coach.

• Job restructuring: allows for redistributing or reallocating some of the marginal functions of the job to other people. (Note: Essential functions of your job you must be able to still do.)

• Providing a job coach which would aid in learning the job effectively while tailoring the experience to your needs.

  • Example: Employers can seek out job coaches through their states vocational rehab programs or they seek out job coaches from non-profit organizations that have experience with your disability and needs.

• Visual performance charts: charts that may use lines or bars to to indicate positive performance of job duties or tasks.

• Task separation: a manager gives new tasks once a task is completed; useful for those who have difficulty managing more than one task or job function at a time.

Memory Deficits

• Request written instructions for job duties and tasks.

• Request communication be through email when possible.

• Providing transcripts for meetings.

• Detailed training time or training refreshers with a supervisor or coworker.

Stress Intolerance

• Allowing the use of anxiety and stress relief apps while working.

  • Examples: Headspace, Calm, Breathwrk

• Emotional support animal (ESA): an animal does not need specific training to become an ESA; can often times be used during work to alleviate or mitigate the impact of stressful situations or triggers. Please note: You must have a disability that is protected under the ADA and you must have a note from your physician or therapist advising the ESA is needed.

  • Examples: Cat, dog, rabbit, guinea pig, rat

• Removal of marginal tasks from daily job duties: marginal tasks are tasks that are not considered essential tasks, essential tasks of a job position you must be able to do with or without accommodation. Note: Essential tasks are most often the tasks listed on a job listing for your job position.

• Modified work schedule: taking extra breaks during the day.

Attentiveness or Concentration:

• Flexible work schedule: allows you to begin work and end work during times when you are at your peak attentiveness.

  • Example: Beginning work later in the workday around 9-11AM instead of 7-9AM.

• Cubicle doors or shields to reduce external noise.

• White noise machines

• Noise cancelling headphones

• Color coded systems

  • Example: Color coding items that are urgent with red tags to raise attentiveness to those tasks. Color coded systems can also help keep you on track by keeping you organized and aware of what is what so you spend less time searching for what you might need with less time to get distracted or disoriented in the task you’re trying to complete.

Social Skills

• Modification of supervisory methods.

  • Examples: meeting more or less frequently to discuss weekly jobs/tasks, using remote communication options when able, providing auditory or written instructions, using a goal-oriented management style.

• On site mentoring: when another member of the company mentors you. A mentor would be able to help guide and direct you in the best strategies for accomplishing your job duties. A mentor can also build a relationship with you and help guide you through the social aspects of navigating your workplace.

• Positive feedback: having supervisors provide positive feedback verbally and in writing.

• Organized one-on-one’s with your supervisor that are structured to give you feedback in a designated time/setting to reduce the worry of always receiving negative feedback, helping you work more effectively with your supervisor.

• Support person: you may benefit from having a certain individual within the company who can help keep you focused, help you in social environments where you may not feel okay alone, and can assist with minor tasks.

Additional Accommodation Requests

• Modified work schedule: allows you to leave work for doctors or therapy appointments during your work day.

  • Example: Taking a 2 hour lunch on certain days to attend therapy appointments during the work day.

• Use of an Employee Assistance Program to help resolve personal or emotional problems or really any other problem that may be adversely impacting an employee’s work performance.

• Workplace disability etiquette and awareness training: this can increase the sense of tolerance and confidence when interacting with the coworkers around you. For more information on disability etiquette, JAN has an excellent resource for this.

These are just a few of many different types of accommodations you can request to help support you in the workplace.

For a more extensive list of possible accommodations, check out the free resource JAN!

Workplace accommodations has given me the ability to do my job a lot more effectively, efficiently, and successfully.

If you’re struggling at work, please consider taking this step. As stressful as the initial process can be, it can do a world of wonders for helping you become the employee you want to be!

In the comments, please share any workplace accommodations that have been helpful for you and why!