‘Be prepared to be treated differently’: The perils some face after declaring their mental health conditions at work

The supervisor’s response prompted Ms Siti Khadijah to tender her resignation on her first day as she felt that the company would not be a psychologically safe environment to work in.

Her experience begs the question: Should employees who are grappling with mental health issues disclose this to their bosses at work?

DISCLOSURE A “DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD”

The awareness of mental health struggles has gained notable traction in recent years with a number of safeguards on the horizon. 

In 2018, a national movement to address mental health stigma called Beyond the Label was launched and last year it started the Return to Work workshops, designed for human resources professionals to support employees returning from mental health-related absences. 

Last November, a law introducing a dispute resolution framework for workers to file discrimination claims was passed in parliament. Taken together with an earlier Bill covering the scope of protections against discrimination and employers’ obligations, it forms the landmark Workplace Fairness Act which authorities aim to implement in end-2027. 

The law will establish mental health conditions, alongside age, nationality, sex, race, disability and other characteristics as areas where workers are protected against discrimination. 

Under an existing 2020 tripartite advisory on mental health at work, employers are encouraged to review application practices to ensure personal medical information is only requested when genuinely job-related and provide access to counselling services such as through Employee Assistance Programmes. 

Despite strides in this area, sharing information about one’s mental health conditions remains fraught at the workplace, where disclosure seems to be at odds with the professional impression one is expected to make. 

While some employees told CNA TODAY that disclosing their mental health concerns has opened doors to support, others cautioned that such a choice can alter workplace dynamics in ways that are difficult to predict or undo.

Many employees said the worry is not open discrimination, but subtle penalties that may follow disclosure.

Mr Julius Tan, a 41-year-old biomedical technician who has bipolar disorder, said he quietly endured a lot of stress and anxiety during his younger years working as a chef as he believed it was what was needed to “earn (his) stripes”. 

“With any of the chefs that I worked with in the past, if I said I had depression, they’d have been like, ‘Life’s hard, man, chin up, the show has to go on.’ 

“So I don’t think I would have disclosed that, I would have been afraid of serious ramifications in terms of advancing and being given responsibility.”