Requesting mental illness workplace accommodations: the roles of perceived need and stigma

• Date: 01 March 2024
• Pages: 1070-1092
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-06-2023-0195
• Published date: 01 March 2024
• Author: Kayla B. Follmer,Mackenzie J. Miller,Joy E. Beatty

Requesting mental illness

workplace accommodations:

the roles of perceived

need and stigma

Kayla B. Follmer and Mackenzie J. Miller

Department of Management, West Virginia University,

Morgantown, West Virginia, USA, and

Joy E. Beatty

Management Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA

Abstract

Purpose –Research related to workplace accommodation requests for employees with mental illness is scarce,

though evidence suggests that these individuals often fail to request accommodations even when needed.

The authors’research study aimed to address these shortcomings by (1) assessing employees’knowledge of

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) laws and how this knowledge influences employees’perceived need for

and requests of accommodations; (2) examining the relationship between employees’perceived need for

accommodations and employees’workplace outcomes and (3) examining the relationship between perceived

need for accommodations and employees’actual accommodation requests, as well as how stigma influences

this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach –The authors used two survey studies to investigate their research

questions. Study 1 participants were recruited through Amazon’s MTurk,and Study 2 participantswere recruited

through support groups for individuals diagnosed with mood disorders (i.e. depression and bipolar disorder).

Findings –The authors found significant gaps in both subjective and objective ADA-related knowledge

among participants in their sample. The authors’Study 1 results also revealed an interaction between the

perceived need for accommodations and accommodation requests in predicting job satisfaction and turnover

intentions. When employees needed accommodations but did not request them, it resulted in worsened

workplace outcomes. In Study 2, the authors aimed to identify barriers to requesting accommodations.

The authors found that the r elationship between perc eived need for accommoda tions and actual

accommodation requests was moderated by both public and self-stigma, thereby showing that stigma can

impede individuals from requesting needed accommodations at work.

Originality/value –The authors’study sheds light on a population that has been relatively understudied in

the workplace accommodations literature, namely those with mental illness. The authors first identify the

perceived need for accommodations as an important factor in making accommodations requests at work, as

prior work has failed to differentiate how the need for accommodations can vary across individuals. Next, the

authors show how workplace outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and turnover intentions) are negatively affected

when employees need accommodations but do not request them. Finally, the authors demonstrate how both

public stigma and self-stigma can reduce the likelihood that individuals request accommodations at work, even

when needed.

Keywords Mental health, Stigma, Mental illness, Accommodations

Paper type Research paper

Each year, approximately 21 million USA adults are affected by mood disorders, many of

whom who are actively involved in the workforce. Major depressive disorder and bipolar

disorders represent the most common types of mood disorders and “involve experiences of

abnormal positive or negative moods”(Strunk and Sasso, 2017, p. 37). Depression is

characterized by feelings of prolonged sadness and hopelessness and may also include loss of

energy, sleep disturbance and difficulty concentrating. Bipolar disorder is characterized by

periods of depression and mania –which involves increased activity levels, grandiose

EDI

43,7

1070

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 12 June 2023

Revised 23 October 2023

Accepted 20 December 2023

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 43 No. 7, 2024

pp. 1070-1092

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-06-2023-0195

thoughts, irritability and impulsivity that may lead to excessive risk-taking behaviors

(Strunk and Sasso, 2017). These serious psychological disorders can affect how employees

think, feel and behave in the workplace (Haslam et al., 2005). For this reason, employees with

mood disorders may require workplace accommodations to effectively meet their job

requirements. Unfortunately, mental illness remains a highly stigmatized condition which is

often viewed as a less legitimate type of disability compared to physical disabilities (Lincoln

et al., 2008;Robinson et al., 2019). The experiences of individuals with mental illness –

including their symptomatology, stigma and workplace interactions –have been shown to

be unique (Follmer and Jones, 2018), thereby warranting increased research on the ways in

which these individuals navigate their workplaces, with particular emphasis on the

accommodation process.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable

accommodations to employees with disabilities, including those with mental illnesses.

Previous research has shown that receiving workplace accommodations not only improves

employees’job performance (Wahlin et al., 2013) but can also reduce the severity of the mental

illness itself (Bolo et al., 2013). Unfortunately, ADA knowledge among persons with

disabilities is not widespread and those who are aware of ADA protections may not use them

due to fear of discrimination once they disclose their condition (Gioia and Brekke, 2003). It

follows then that many employees fail to receive the accommodations they need at work

(Wang et al., 2011) and as evidenced by a study in which 20% of individuals believed that they

could have avoided termination from their jobs if they had access to workplace

accommodations (Mak et al., 2006). Employees with knowledge of accommodations and

rights under the ADA are more likely to request and receive accommodations (Gioia and

Brekke, 2003;Macdonald-Wilson et al., 2008). Thus, helping employees access reasonable

workplace accommodations is both a critical and timely issue facing both researchers and

practitioners.

Although research regarding workplace accommodations for employees with mental

illness is scarce, initial findings suggest that employees fail to seek accommodations due to a

general lack of knowledge regarding workplace legal protections (Goldberg et al., 2005). This

is problematic because the very laws that have been put in place to protect employees may

not be serving their intended purpose. Across two research studies we investigate employees’

knowledge related to workplace accommodations and identify factors that predict their

intentions to request accommodations at work. In Study 1, we examine whether ADA

knowledge affects employees’perceived need for and likelihood to request accommodations

for their mental illness, and the extent to which perceived need for accommodations affects

important workplace outcomes, including job satisfaction and turnover intentions. In Study

2, we examine the relationship between perceived need for accommodations and actual

accommodation requests. Additionally, we consider boundary conditions of this relationship

by examining how external and internal stigmas in teract with perceived need for

accommodations to predict actual accommodation requests. Altogether, these studies not

only advance research on workplace accommodations –an area of study that has often been

overlooked in organizational research –but also focuses on a group of employees that has

traditionally been excluded from discussions of workplace accommodations, those with

mental illness.

Study 1

Literature review

Mood disorders are serious psychological conditions that can affect how individuals think,

feel and behave (Strunk and Sasso, 2017). Despite the impact that these disorders can have on

individuals’daily lives and workplace experiences, they are often difficult to detect through

Mental illness

workplace

accommodations

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