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Poll What Is The Workplace Really Like For Employees With PTSD?

What Is The Workplace Really Like For Employees With PTSD?

  • For the most part I have been treated fairly

    Votes: 8 25.8%
  • Sometimes I have been treated fairly and sometimes I have not

    Votes: 17 54.8%
  • For the most part, I have been treated unfairly

    Votes: 6 19.4%

  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.

PTSD and Me

Learning
I am doing some research on employees with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to see what kinds of experiences they have. Available literature and laws seem to indicate that bosses should be aware that these are frequently considered disabilities covered by the ADA in the U.S. and that accommodations should readily be made to keep such employees.

I have PTSD, but my occupational field is Human Resources where we are required to know the laws and what is expected of a company. I have disclosed my PTSD as a disability to all of my employers so that I could benefit from accommodation under the ADA, and I have been treated with respect and dignity. I now realize that I may have been lucky or it may have been my knowledge of the applicable laws that made my managers happy to make accommodations (rather than face the consequences they knew I could bring about). I am now learning that this is perhaps more the exception than the rule, and I wonder if others with PTSD disclose it as a disability or not.

I was wondering if anyone has any positive or negative experiences about work that they would like to share?
 
Not that I have ever disclosed my diagnosis or personal information with anyone in my workplace, other than anxiety, I was still not treated fairly.

I read somewhere that due to a lack of sleep and concentration, it is difficult for people with PTSD to get to work on time. This was definitely my issue.

I worked for the federal government (still do, I guess). I had been in roles where I was more supportive to upper management and knew what that entailed; if ever my boss was late or wasn't around for any reason, I had to be there, on time, to make sure his calls were answered in such a way as to maintain his reputation. That boss was never on my case, understood that I could be late 5 or 10 minutes but would stay at the end to make up for it.

I moved on to another boss who was an absolute bully. Horrid as she was, I worked in HR and because of my position, was not able to appeal to my union. Seemed I had now become an employee in a posisition that was classified "sensitive" and union representation would not cover me.

I transferred out of that position into another in HR. My acting manager was inexperienced and very high-strung. I no longer reported to anyone who needed me to cover their ass, so-to-speak. Being late every now and again brought a letter of reprimand upon my personnel file. Even though I would consistently do overtime and stay over lunch. Fighting that was futile as I eventually ended up just showing my boss exactly where my weaknesses lie. She took advantage all she could.

I once had a panic attack as work... Thinking I could trust my boss, I gave her a note to tell her what was going on. That turned into a threat to be sent for a "fitness to work" examination. I was obviously upset by the lack of understanding but what she didn't get what that I actually welcomed such srutiny! I don't have a family doctor. What upset me was her bs and lies. She took advantage of me.

With the bully boss, had I fought the situation, there was no way I would have been viewed in such a negative light. Seeing as I was in the incestual world of HR and hadn't fought, a false reputation followed me around.

Sorry, that is my long runaround story. If there was more education out there, I believe that employers might be more tolerant of employees who require different work hours for example. But that was the least of my problems.

Inexperienced women bosses who feel threatened other women can certainly have a negative effect in the workplace. Or at least, that is the impression I am left with. I never want to work for another woman again!
 
somegirl,

I ~totally~ empathise with the way you were treated. But I was actually a little set back by you saying so very blankly :

'I never want to work for another woman again!'

That is such a black and white statement. I'm extremely sorry you had a bad experience with a female boss - but that doesn't mean the next boss who happens to be of a certain gender would treat you the same way. You're judging an entire gender based on one experience. I'll tell you right now - I'm female and I wouldn't have done that if I were your boss. And I'm pretty certain many other females wouldn't have either. I sincerely hope you don't take this as a 'statement back'. I just think it's sad if you would write off certain possible future opportunities purely based on the gender of a future employer.

I really hope you don't hold your experience against 'females' as a whole. We're all people. I'm very sorry for your experience. That 'inexperienced boss' could have just as easily been male or female. We're all people.

-Jen
 
Workplaces

Hi Superjen & Somegirl,

I can truly understand how you feel - I have had some terrible bosses, some were men, some were women. I am a woman working in HR and taking on a mission to try to educate employers to what people with PTSD need, what are the most important factors in the workplace?

For example, what helps the most / least:
  • co-workers understanding
  • manager's style
  • type of work
  • organizational culture
  • work station
I loved your long answer, somegirl, it said so much about the things bosses need to hear. My goal is to try to give employees with PTSD to coach their bosses back. I think we should give them constructive feedback based on your real experiences.

If it helps, a good way to answer the questions might be:

"In my first job ABC happened, I would like to tell that boss that writing me up did no good at all to help me stop having panic attacks, it made things worse. What I really needed was DEF.

In my second job, GHI happened, and my boss handled it well in that she gave me the flexible time I needed, and never asked too many questions, except 'Are you ok today?'. That let me know she cared, but I didn't feel under pressure to disclose my PTSD so I was comfortable with her."

Does that help? I love your answers, and you can rail about not wanting to work for a man or woman again if you like - please just be aware that I can only focus on behavior, Ican't coach an employer not to be a man or a woman. ;)
 
Good morning ladies :)

Jen - I do understand your point and I bet I would be inclined to think the same thing after reading my post. I am generally a very open and unbiased person, so yes, this is out of character for me. I wouldn't say I would rule out working for a woman again *entirely*. In HR though, I doubt I ever will again lol! Though, good point, maybe it is just the gov't :P

The bully boss treated me like she treated her own daughter, which was not very well at all. For instance, instead of letting her daughters phone call go to voicemail or answering nicely to say she was busy, she would deliberately put her on speaker phone and say "WHAT?!". Belittling and demeaning her daughter in front of her co-workers every chance she got.

The boss with little experience worked for another woman and was threatened by my work ethic, etc. She did everything to ensure that her own boss would not see my qualities. In fact, (PTSD and Me, you will love this) when I was brought in for the meeting to get my letter of reprimand, my boss had ever so thoughtfully printed out calendars and coloured (YES, with markers!!) days when I had come in late and days when I had come in on time but "wasn't feeling well". Instead of commending me for coming in when I felt like crap, she colour coded it as if it was a bad thing. The HR reps in the room got really uneasy when she whipped that out. But I digress....

I can't say I've ever worked for a man who let emotions get in the way like that. My male bosses have never gotten threatened, never treated me like a child, etc. That being said, it could happen and I suppose it is just my luck that it turned out this way. Another factor was speaking with other women (my grandmother in particular) who've had similar experiences. It's a very dog eat dog world in the female bureaucracy race. Maybe it's just that I had two bad bosses in a row who happened to be females, working in gov't HR.

Thanks for letting me know how you felt. It gave me an opportunity to see how badly that affected me, to elaborate and explore a little bit.
 
Getting The Study Back On Track...

So then, would it be fair to say that the characteristics that made those jobs difficult for you were the manager's attitudes toward you?

Did they know about your PTSD?

If so, was this their idea of "supporting" you to be better in your job by highlighting (In marker!?! In a group setting!?! *pulls hair out*) the areas that they wanted you to improve?

You never know what some bosses are thinking. I once had a male manager twice my age who knew I had PTSD, and who I was complaining to about the IS department not delivering on a promise they made. He started yelling at me, "Don't play the victim!"

At first I was taken aback, but a couple more repetitions of "Don't play the victim!" and I yelled back at him. "Don't you ever call me that again! I am NOT a victim!" Not a very intelligent thing to do on the whole... but he had the best of intentions, wanted to help, and never thought that I would be so offended. He dropped it right there, and never made a comment about my little outburst.
 
I only ever exprienced 'victim blaming' at the hand of my male bosses. They assumed that I had done something to deserve being abused by my ex and two actually told me that '...if it had been that bad I should have left him and because I didn't I had no right to extra support...' If I experienced a flashback I was told I was inventing things/ being lazy/ being hormonal and a varity of other such joys. When one made rape jokes knowing my past I got a disiciplinary warning for walking away from my post in tears.

In my experience, boses, like so many other people fall into the trap of trying to deny that terrible things happen to people they know, and in doing so often treat people (prehaps not always actively, but often passively) that have suffered trauma like they are weak at best, liars at worst. Lots of people feel unconfortable around people that have suffered a trauma, and where outside of the workplace they can just choose to avoid those people inside it's different.

Sorry this was a bit tangential... I think I'm getting triggered so I'm going to stop typing now.
 
PTSD and Me -
I'm afraid I can't really contribute to the study because I haven't had any bosses aware of my PTSD. It's certainly affected me in the workplace (mostly from an anxiety standpoint). I *think* if you asked my past bosses if they noticed they'd probably just answer with 'I just figured she was very shy'. It's never held me back from THEIR end - I was promoted, etc etc. From my end - I've often gone to work VERY anxious and had to talk myself down, which I think makes a regular workday a lot harder. The biggest challenge wasn't the work itself - it's having to do it in such an anxious state. Sorry I can't be of more help with the study.
 
Whether They Know It Or Not

Thanks superjen, actually your input is very helpful.

I believe it is possible to be treated fairly or unfairly even if your employer doesn't know you have PTSD. So I would be interested in hearing about your experiences just the same.

I feel (as you seem to) that even if you don't disclose PTSD to employers, they sense that something is different about you. I know they have for me. What they do with an employee who doesn't fit the mold is of interest to me.

I also wonder, have you ever considered telling an employer? Why did you come to the conclusion that you should not.

All of your thoughts about how this works are very helpful to me. Without your contributions, I have only my own experience to go by...

Thank you in advance to anyone who participates! You are helping all of us with PTSD.
 
PTSD and Me -
ok, my honest answer would be that I dont think I've ever been treated unfairly. I think if anything has held me back in terms of PTSD its been myself. Also, I was only recently diagnosed so it wasn't so much a matter of not telling them as much as it was a matter of me not knowing myself. Also, I prefer to work for small organisations rather than large ones. I feel more able to integrate into a group if it's small. If it's really big I tend to withdraw more. I'm very much like this in a social sense also. I'm much better in a one or one situation (or a small group). The bigger the group the more I will tend to stay silent.

In one job I was transferred between departments and my ex manager told my new manager (I overheard it) - 'If she doesn't talk very much don't take it personally, it's just Jen. Just let her get on with the job because that's how she performs best, etc'. I also recall walking around a corner one day and someone was coming and I jumped. And my co worker noted 'you're a jumpy little thing, arent you?'.

Would I now feel comfortable telling an employer? ...NOT in an interview, no. Because I would be afraid I wouldn't get the job because they would assume I may be unreliable or erratic and that they may have to make exceptions for me which they wouldn't have to make for another employee. Much like someone being pregnant ( ie - oh great, now we're gonna have to replace her, handle maternity leave, etc etc). After a certain amount of time on a job I MAY consider telling an employer, but not if it was a large company where 'word spreads' amongst people who don't really know you. People judge. They sometimes don't even mean to judge, they simply don't understand what it is. I suppose if I disclosed it in a large company I may go to work even MORE anxious because *I* would be thinking 'are they talking about me?', etc. Another irony - I am gay and I have no problem disclosing this so I'm quite brave in that sense - ie, I dont care what anyone has to say about that - it's 2010 - get over it!!! But with PTSD - I suppose *I* am still a little ashamed of it. It's new to me still.

I do think people notice 'something' different but they can't put their finger on what it is. Funny thing is, a manager once noted to me that I had got the promotion because I got on with the job while many others sat around gossiping. Ironic when I think about why I wasn't off with the rest of them and was just sat at my desk with my head down working, etc.

The worst thing for me is the anxiety. Especially after days off. I find it's much harder to go to work after days off when I've had time away. I almost feel like a little kid wanting to say 'please don't make me go, PLEASE don't make me go'. Not because I'm lazy - but because I feel so freaking anxious outside of my own little safe world.

Hope this all makes sense.
 
Definitely the managers attitudes towards me. I absolutely had no difficulty doing the job. In fact, I found that I did not have enough work, requested many times to be put to more use, if not better use.

They did not know of my PTSD, as I didn't even know... I did tell them about my anxiety but only after I'd suffered the panic attack, above mentioned.

The next day, she pulled me into the office to say that she really didn't know what to do when I gave her the note. She wanted to know if it was going to happen again, how often they happen, etc. and that I should be sent for a fitness to work evaluation. I told her that that was not necessary, that she had done the right thing initially in telling me to go take a walk around the building.... I also informed her that this wasn't my first time and that usually I was able to catch it before it got too far and at least take myself to the washroom where no one could see me, until I calmed down. I told her I was managing it just fine. She didn't really believe me and eventually I had to say "Look. It is going to happen again. When? I don't know. Maybe when I'm driving, maybe while I'm working, maybe while I'm cooking dinner, but it will happen again." Ok, I digress again.

Here is what I would recommend to boss's of people with C/PTSD:

  • If you are calling your employee in for a meeting with you and you haven't really said what it is for, at least KEEP the meeting time. DO NOT put it off. There is nothing I hated more than being told we would have a quick impromptu meeting at 2pm and then the time comes and they would just say "oh, how about another 15 minutes?"
  • If you have a high functioning employee who does a great job but comes in 5-10 minutes late, though consistently.. especially if it doesn't affect anyone else, and you don't want to give them a half hour variable start time, change their work hours in your brain!! 8:40 to 5:40. It will save us all some grief!
  • Have "meditation rooms". A safe place for people to go to be alone for a while if they need it. In PTSD speak: an escape route!!
  • Try and be consistent with your own attitude. A volatile boss will do nothing but make me vulnerable, scared and on edge.
  • Be transparent or have discussions in a closed office. Hearing people whispering around me spiked my anxiety all the time.
 
I voted unfairly----but to be fair to those who employed me--I was working undiagnosed. so they did not know and I did not know. But as my symptoms escalated they did not attempt to find out why I was becoming unmanageable. I worked for them for 8 solid years and they watched me crumble. No one asked me if there were problems or even counseled me to shape up.

Seeing the writing on the wall and realizing I was going to get fired, I did my usual and got a new job. That had been a pattern my entire life. I was blessed, however, with a new boss that only took 6 months to recognize I was spiraling down. I remember her 1st words to me when she called me into her office on the day I was convinced I would be fired. She said, and I quote--"What is going on? You are not the woman I hired." She got me the help I needed instantly and the rest is history.

But, Anthony, how can this polll be useful to you when so many of people are voting unfair and their employers were never told? Anyway, that is my input
 
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