Disclosing mental ill-health at work

While many people may be comfortable talking about their physical health at work, they may find it harder to talk about experiences of mental ill-health . Choosing whether to disclose mental ill-health in the workplace is a personal decision.

Factors that influence whether to disclose

People are not legally required to tell their employer about mental ill-health. 

Deciding whether to disclose mental ill-health at work may depend on things such as: 

• how much, if at all, their symptoms are impacting their work performance or the people they work with
• how much support a person has outside work
• how much support they may need at work
• whether it is perceived to be safe to disclose to their manager or co-workers
• whether they feel their disclosure will be treated with respect across the organisation
• whether their symptoms create a potential health and safety risk
• whether a person feels a sense of shame or stigma about their experience. 

How much people tell their co-workers about their mental ill-health is up to them. They do have to let their employer know if their condition creates a health and safety risk. 

Degrees of disclosure

Disclosing any ill-health at work can depend on who a person may wish to tell and the degree of disclosure. Even when people decide they will disclose mental ill-health at work, there may be differences in who they tell and the information they wish to share. 

Level of disclosure could be:

• Full disclosure – being open with everyone at work (managers and co-workers) about an experience of mental ill-health. This might include sharing details about a diagnosis and treatment.
• Partial disclosure – sharing only a few details that are relevant for work and keeping other details private. An example of this may include “I have a health problem that I’m getting some help with, but it sometimes causes me to be extra tired in the mornings. I don’t want you to think that I’m being lazy.”
• Targeted disclosure – Telling specific people, such as:
  • an immediate manager or supervisor
  • human resources personnel
  • immediate co-workers 
  • work site occupational health team members.

Deciding what to share with others in the workplace, and who plays a part in that communication, can be a helpful conversation to have following disclosure of mental ill-health. It is important people provide permission about what information is shared with others unless there is an urgent need to share information to protect that person’s safety or the safety of others.

Rights and responsibilities related to disclosure

Both employers and workers have rights and responsibilities under legislation relating to discrimination, privacy, and work health and safety. For instance, an employer must not discriminate against, harass or victimise someone because of a mental illness. 

Employers may also have a duty to act to provide reasonably practicable adjustments or take other actions if a disclosure highlights a potential health and safety risk. Seeking advice and consulting with workers to create procedures can help your workplace proactively manage disclosure. 

Workers also have responsibilities too, particularly if mental ill-health affects someone’s ability to complete their usual tasks or creates a health or safety risk in the workplace (link to prior page).

Benefits of disclosure

When a workplace’s people and policies are supportive, disclosing an experience of mental ill-health can have benefits such as: 

• providing appropriate supports, work adjustments or time off 
• better understanding symptoms or any difficulties associated with mental ill-health, and not interpreting them as a performance issue
• helping people recover faster by being at work with the right adjustments and supports—see the Stay at work and return to work module
• normalising the experience of mental ill-health and making it more likely others will feel comfortable talking about their personal experiences
• helping managers and teams make more informed decisions about how to redistribute workloads.

Telling co-workers about mental ill-health can have benefits. It opens the door for conversations about reasonable adjustments. It can also help overcome the stigma surrounding mental ill-health and mental illness. 

What to consider if someone discloses an experience of mental ill-health

How you respond to a disclosure of mental ill-health may depend on your role and relationship with that person. 

Some general principles for responding to disclosure include:

• Be respectful and supportive.
• Be non-judgemental.
• Keep their information private—you cannot share it with anyone else without the person’s permission, unless there is a risk of serious harm.
• Ask them how you can support them at work. 
• Encourage them to speak with relevant managers, human resources or team members if they would benefit from reasonable adjustments.
• Check whether they have information about relevant support systems, such as Employee Assistance Program providers, on-site occupational health services, a GP or other services on the Urgent Help page.

Any information about a person's mental ill-health is private and it cannot be shared with anyone else unless there is a risk of serious harm.