Before you write your colleague off as rude, weird, or entitled, take a moment to educate yourself about invisible disabilities—it might make you see their unusual behavior in a new light.
Have you ever had a colleague, employee, or classmate who just seems a little—odd?
Perhaps they seem reluctant to make eye contact, doodle during meetings, or sometimes leave the room suddenly without explanation. They may have an invisible disability that explains their behavior.
What Are Invisible Disabilities?
Invisible disabilities (also known as hidden or non-visible disabilities) are any disabilities that aren’t immediately obvious under normal circumstances.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) defines a person with a disability as an individual who “has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,” and research shows that an estimated 10 percent of Americans live with an invisible or hidden form of disability.
There are many neurological and physical conditions that could be classed as invisible disabilities. In fact, 96 percent of illnesses are invisible, but here are a few examples of common invisible disabilities to be aware of:
- Diabetes
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Chronic pain
- Migraines
- Fibromyalgia
- Mental health conditions (for example: severe depression and anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, Schizophrenia, OCD, and Bipolar Disorder)
- Arthritis
- Epilepsy
- Crohn’s Disease
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Lupus (also known as SLE)
- Dysautonomia
- Autism
- Cognitive impairment (for example: dementia, brain trauma, and learning disabilities like Dyslexia)
- Other medical conditions requiring intensive treatment and management such as cancer and HIV/AIDS
Obviously, each condition affects individuals differently, and people with these conditions will have very different needs. As with everything in life, it’s vital to get to know the people in your life and workplace so that you can empathize with—and adapt to—their unique preferences and needs.
That being said, developing an awareness of some of the different ways invisible disabilities can manifest as “unusual” or “unexpected” behavior in the workplace can help you keep an open mind and be sensitive to the underlying causes of their behavior.
10 Behaviors That Could Be Due to an Invisible Disability or Health Issue
Struggles with Eye Contact
Autistic people and those with behavioral and cognitive conditions like PTSD and anxiety often find it hard to conform to what others think of as “normal” levels of eye contact. As The Cut put it, “One person’s friendly eye contact is another person’s excruciating moment, depending on your personality and cognitive traits.”
Doodling During Meetings
When you see someone doodling during a meeting or presentation, do you assume they aren’t paying attention? Research actually suggests that doodling can help to focus the mind and improve memory, especially when someone has ADHD.
Wearing Headphones
If you live with a sensory condition like autism or ADHD, wearing noise-canceling headphones can be a vital way to help you focus on the task at hand. While it can appear anti-social or unfriendly to some colleagues, it’s often a way of increasing productivity or even just making working life bearable for someone with an invisible disability.
Sitting Down to Give Presentations
Standing for prolonged periods of time can be hard for people with a whole variety of different health conditions, including Dysautonomia.
Frequent Snacking
Some medication needs to be taken with food, and some conditions like diabetes require snacks at certain points in the day to keep blood sugar levels regulated.
Social Awkwardness and Inability to Engage in Small Talk
Many invisible conditions such as autism, PTSD, and depression can impact a person’s ability to “fit in” socially. This can be particularly problematic in the workplace because it can make it harder to bond with colleagues, and it’s also a well-known fact that being good at small talk and watercooler chat can lead to higher rates of promotion and career success.
Frequent Toilet Breaks
If you have a condition like diabetes where you need to give yourself an insulin shot or other medication at a specific time of day, or a condition that affects the bladder or bowel, you may need more frequent and/or private toilet breaks.
Inability to Drive
There are many invisible disabilities that affect a person’s ability to drive, including epilepsy. If someone can’t drive, they have to rely on alternative ways of getting to work. Things like public transport schedules and delays or a last-minute change of plans from the friend or family member they were relying on for a lift can have a big impact on the time they’re able to get into the office or when they have to leave.
Not Shaking Hands
If someone suffers from chronic pain or arthritis in their hands or arms, the simple act of shaking hands can be incredibly painful for them. So, if a colleague seems reluctant to shake hands and prefers to nod or greet you in some other way, they’re not necessarily being rude or aloof—they could be doing their best to avoid exacerbating their condition.
Leaving the Room Suddenly Without Explanation
When someone’s experiencing PTSD, high anxiety, or panic attacks, there may be some things that seem perfectly normal to you that actually act as triggers to someone who has experienced trauma or deep stress. This could be anything and may seem perfectly harmless or even positive, like a song or a photograph of the ocean, that takes the affected person back to a traumatic memory.
You can’t necessarily avoid these triggers—you most likely won’t know about their trauma in detail, and even if you do, it can still be hard to predict and avoid those them—but it’s important to be aware that if your colleague is experiencing the onset of a panic attack, they may need to remove themselves from a situation as fast as possible to recover and regain composure.
When we experience one of these triggers, our bodies can become flooded with cortisol which makes it hard for us to think clearly. Taking some time out can be an effective way to help the body metabolize excess cortisol and get normal systems back up and running as quickly as possible.
Why People Don’t Always Talk About Their Invisible Disabilities
Disclosing details about your disability or health condition can be really hard when there’s so much stigma associated with having a disability in general, and you may have a history of being made to feel like you’re a less productive or valuable member of society.
Many people also live with an undiagnosed health condition and aren’t aware that the symptoms they live with are associated with a medical condition or invisible disability.
Talking about your health and your body is a personal and vulnerable thing to do, so it’s important that people don’t feel pressured to disclose information about their condition.
While it’s helpful for a team to be aware of someone’s disability so that they can be as understanding and accommodating as possible (and also so that they can ensure the safety of their colleague), it’s also important to remember that people with disabilities of all kinds face intense discrimination in the workplace.
When it comes to invisible disabilities, this can have the added complication of accusations or implications that the person in question is faking their symptoms and is just “lazy.”
There are many reasons someone may be reluctant to tell their colleagues about an invisible disability. The decision whether or not to tell others about their disability is often an added burden to people with hidden disabilities, and many choose to suffer in silence and try to fit in rather than face potential discrimination.
Why It’s Important to Support People With Invisible Disabilities in the Workplace
If all of this has left you feeling like perhaps the cost of supporting the needs of people with disabilities is too high, think again. Research shows that 59 percent of accommodations needed for people with disabilities don’t cost employers anything, while the rest cost around $500 per employee with a disability.
Meanwhile, all the evidence points to the fact that this investment is more than worth it when it comes to the bottom line: inclusive companies that have adapted well to the needs of their disabled employees have, on average, 28 percent higher revenue and double the net income compared to their competitors over a four-year period.
While people with disabilities, including invisible disabilities, need support to thrive, it’s worth the extra effort whichever way you look at it: people navigating life with a disability are generally much more innovative than their peers because they encounter and overcome more challenges in their day-to-day lives.
Companies that hire people with disabilities and that have strong inclusive cultures report significant increases in their shareholder value and return on investment. Plus, overall staff happiness tends to be higher—staff turnover rates are lower by as much as 30 percent.
There’s a lot of truth in the old adage that we need to be kind because everyone we meet is fighting a hard battle.
Very few of us will go through life without experiencing some form of trauma, loss, or health issue, and your future self will likely thank you for helping to build a more inclusive and empathetic work culture. Being sensitive towards the needs of people with invisible disabilities can help us to grow, innovate, and become more compassionate humans, which will ultimately have a positive impact on everyone.
