According to the CDC, one in four American adults live with a disability. This includes a wide range of conditions that may be visible or invisible.
To shed more light on what it's really like to have a disability in the workplace, we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share their experiences. Here are their stories:
1. "I've dealt with an eating disorder for decades. I now eat a special diet to help with PCOS, and work is a minefield. You can't refuse a donut without people pressuring you, telling you to treat yourself, saying, 'What's the big deal?' and on and on."
2. "Firstly, call centers are the absolute worst place to work as it is. I was recovering from breaking three limbs in multiple places, and I had PTSD and ADHD. I had to get a doctor's note for everything that should have just been evident, and then they would try to bypass the note anyway."
"All I needed was a footrest and a keyboard tray to make it through the day. I also could not do overtime because it was too much on my body to sit at a desk that long, and I needed breaks every two hours. All of those are pretty normal things many people need, and are not difficult to do. Well, they would sometimes let other people sit at my desk and expect me to to work without accommodation, or else I wasn’t a 'team player.' They got mad at me for having a panic attack, and accused me of faking it. They ended up doing an 'at will' layoff on me, but I improved my life so much after I left there (my next job actually treated me like a human)."
3. "I was diagnosed with chronic migraines earlier this year. They were so bad that I literally wanted to die a few times, I was so unwell. I kept going to work because I grew up with the military-family mindset of 'Go to work unless your leg has fallen off, and even then, just hop.'"
"Anyway, at work, we have the radio on. So while I'm at work in pain, I'm just asking if we can turn the music down — not off, just down — and not also have a Bluetooth speaker playing different music at the back of the store. I changed the station a few times if it was playing thumping dance or screaming rock because that made the pain worse. Several young, male colleagues acted like I was literally just being a brat because I didn't like the music being played."
4. "I have a mood disorder (bipolar II), ADHD, and anxiety, and it affects me at work sometimes. Even though my boss and HR know I have these disorders, no accommodations have been made."
5. "I have spina bifida (myelomeningocele) but have been fortunate enough to be totally mobile and mostly able-passing. I still have all the associated issues despite being able to hide my condition — including issues with my bladder."
"I am a teacher, and the biggest issue I face in my day-to-day is around bathroom breaks. It is considered a badge of honor to ‘hold it all day’ and go without breaks because we are busy. I don’t have the luxury of holding it in, but I’m still held to the same standard, including working through breaks and not being able to leave my classroom because of a lack of other available adults. I have also been given the only classroom without a bathroom attached. I’m the youngest staff member, and rooms are hierarchical. I get it, but it sucks. I don’t feel like I can make a fuss because I would be seen as a troublemaker."
—Anonymous
6. "My boss was having a mandatory bonding day where our job would close and we would go to an escape room. All employees were to attend. I have dysautonomia (hyperadrenergic POTS) and said I will not be participating."
"I was told that if I didn't attend, I would have to sit at my job alone until everyone got done with the escape room and work. Except there was no work, because as mentioned above, we would be closed. There would be no clients to see or anything.
"Also, hello…it is during a pandemic. It was a terrible idea. I guess enough people complained about the idea because we ended up doing a murder mystery at work instead."
7. "I'm bipolar and I started having an anxiety attack at work. I took one of my emergency pills. It made me drowsy, but I was still able to focus."
8. "I'm not able to work at the moment due to my disability and chronic illnesses, but when I first started getting ill and experiencing chronic pain, I was still working in retail as a cashier."
"My work occupational health team did nothing to help as I had no diagnosis yet (still don't), so I had no support in place to help me do my job. I was missing more and more shifts because of flare-ups, and I was getting regular disciplinary meetings. I finally had to get signed off sick by a doctor before I had to quit two or three months later after no improvement in my health."
—Anonymous
9. "I was working a temp job and was already insecure because I couldn’t seem to land full-time work. I was worried it was because people were noticing my disability."
"One day, my temp job had me sticking barcode labels on textbooks. I can’t move as quickly as an able-bodied person and hadn’t told them I have a disability. I was pressured to go more quickly and made to feel like I was lazy, when really, I was trying my hardest. Another temp job let me go because I didn’t have enough dexterity to use a letter opener properly. Temp work isn’t disability-friendly!"
—Anonymous
10. "I have Type 1 diabetes, and it’s been hard in every profession I've been in to manage blood sugars when breaks, stress, and schedules aren’t in my control. I once blacked out at my register when I was a cashier at Whole Foods because my blood sugar went low during a rush at the store."
11. "I have multiple sclerosis (RRMS; diagnosed the day before my 30th), and I always feel guilty if I’m tired or achy or I have brain fog, since I know I am seen with pity eyes."
"I used to conquer my job as a registered nurse, and I was great at it until I wasn’t. I ended up quitting that job and taking a huge pay cut simply because I couldn’t do the 12- to 14-hour shifts. Now I am on a great medicine regimen, and I feel more like myself pre-MS than ever before, but I could never go back to my old job. I will always get the pity eyes and would never be trusted with any important tasks, which sucks."
12. "I have two autoimmune disorders as well as complex PTSD and chronic migraines. I went through five jobs in three years. Everywhere I worked wouldn't make an accommodation for me to work flexible hours, even though I had salaried positions and could meet deadlines when working flexible hours."
"One place used the 'at will' excuse to fire me, even though I'd met all deadlines and never had any complaints from clients, coworkers, or my supervisor. I know they simply didn't want to deal with accommodating me. I now have a fully remote job with flexible hours, as I realized this is the only way I'm able to be successful in my career."
13. "I was going through the initial flare-up of my autoimmune disease in 2016 while working full time at McDonald's. I had all proper medical evidence, and my managers were as good as they could be about not questioning when I needed a day off."
14. "I've been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis for 10 years, and it has caused havoc with my work life a fair number of times."
"Due to fatigue, constant need for the toilet, and abdominal and joint pain, people often assume I'm being lazy with my work, when it is the opposite. Those with chronic invisible conditions often get labeled as 'faking' or 'attention seeking,' when in reality, we have to learn to deal with an unpredictable condition.
"I wish people would understand how awful we feel and we can't help it. We really wish people would listen and understand instead of belittling us. We're trying our best."
15. "I have had to give up my job since becoming disabled. I used to teach children with behavioral and learning problems, and I loved it. My back, however, means I’m constantly in pain and I can do very little."
"Plus, the school I worked at wasn’t suitable for someone in a wheelchair. There were no lifts, and lots of stairs everywhere. Sure, I could get a job in another school, but all the local ones are the same and I don’t drive. Public transport is a no-go for me; it used to make me anxious before — even more so in a wheelchair.
"Places like to think they’re accessible for all, but that’s just not true. So many pavements are uneven for wheelchairs or there's nowhere to come off or up a path. I’ve had hotels apologize that they couldn’t accommodate me as they only have stairs, shops where the aisles are crammed full of promotions, and not to mention being able to reach higher up."
16. And finally, "I have ADHD and spent years finding a medication regimen that worked great for me. However, I recently had to wean myself off my prescription in preparation for trying to have a baby."
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.