Opening up can unlock much-needed support, but it also comes with risks.
The flare-up started like all of the others: intense diarrhea, cramping and other gastrointestinal symptoms that left Christopher French in the bathroom for long periods.
Mr. French, who stocked shelves at a big box hardware store, was dealing with ulcerative colitis. But this was his very first job, and it required moving heavy fertilizer sacks, which only worsened his symptoms.
Mr. French called out sick for three weeks straight and was eventually fired from his job. Now 47, he still remembers his manager’s words. “‘I wish you had been upfront about it,’” his supervisor told him. “‘We could have worked something out.’”
Opening up about a medical condition can unlock support at work; laws like the Americans With Disabilities Act create pathways and protections for people to do so. But disclosure isn’t without risk. In a 2023 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, nearly half of U.S. workers with invisible disabilities, which are medical conditions that are not readily apparent to others, said they had chosen not to share the information; those who did were more likely to report rude or insensitive behavior.
Mr. French later changed careers and started discussing his condition during job interviews. But he acknowledged that wouldn’t be a safe choice for everyone. The Times asked experts for their advice on how to disclose a chronic health condition and what to do if you’re met with pushback.
‘A civil rights law doesn’t change people’s attitudes.’
Since its passing in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act has aimed to shield people with disabilities from discrimination in public life, including at work. Under the law, employers with 15 or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations to those who request them. Reasonable accommodations are defined as “a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done in the hiring process.”