Depression Accommodations at Work

Common barriers at work

These are some of the tasks that people with this condition often find harder at work. Not everyone experiences all of them, and naming a barrier is simply the first step toward a change that helps.

• Concentrating and keeping your attention on tasks.
• Fatigue and low stamina that make a full day or week harder to sustain.
• Remembering details, deadlines, and multi-step instructions.
• Staying awake and alert, and keeping consistent attendance, especially in the morning.

Accommodations that can help

Many of these are low cost or no cost. You do not have to accept the first idea, you can combine several, and what works is individual. The Job Accommodation Network keeps a fuller list for this condition.

• Flexible scheduling A start time and schedule that fit when your energy and focus are best, plus time for appointments.
• Working from home Telework some or all of the time to manage energy and reduce a demanding commute.
• Flexible or additional breaks A modified break schedule with short rest breaks to manage fatigue across the day.
• Adjusted deadlines and workload Restructuring tasks, separating them into steps, and revisiting deadlines when stamina is low.
• Reminders and written support Checklists, written instructions, and reminders to support memory and follow-through.
• Supportive check-ins Regular, predictable check-ins with a manager or mentor to confirm priorities and progress.

How to ask

A first ask can be brief. You do not need to say "accommodation" or share your diagnosis. Under EEOC guidance, it is enough to tell your employer you need a change for a medical reason. Name what is hard, propose a change, and link it to doing your job. Here is one way to put it.

Want a full version to adapt and print? See the reasonable accommodation request letter.

What documentation may be involved

• If your need is clear, sometimes little or no documentation is required, though for conditions that are not visible, employers ask for some more often.
• When documentation is requested, it usually confirms you have a condition and that the change is related to it, not your full medical history.
• A note can come from a range of qualified providers, such as a primary care doctor, therapist, or counselor, not only a specialist.

When a request can be denied

A no is rarely the final word. Employers commonly give one of these reasons, and each one leaves room to keep talking:

• The specific change would cause the employer significant difficulty or expense (this is a high bar).
• A different accommodation would be just as effective. The employer can offer an equally effective alternative.
• The request would remove an essential function of the job rather than adjust how it is done.

Sources

The official and primary sources behind this page.

1. 1 Depression (opens in a new tab) Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
2. 2 Depression, PTSD, & Other Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace: Your Legal Rights (opens in a new tab) U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
3. 3 Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the ADA (opens in a new tab) U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
4. 4 The Americans with Disabilities Act (opens in a new tab) U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov

Related pages and next steps

• The interactive process, step by step
• Reasonable accommodation request letter
• If your request is denied