The impact of COVID-19 on disability disclosure at work

Workers with invisible disabilities face the complex decision of whether to disclose or conceal their disability at work. In my current research, I propose a preliminary analysis of how the choice to (not) disclose an invisible disability at work was challenged in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in France. By invisible disability, I mean a concealable disability that enables disabled workers to appear as non-disabled in the eyes of their colleagues. The decision of (non-)disclosure of such a disability involves weighing the potential benefits of disability recognition against the risk of stigma. Choosing not to disclose a disability can be a strategy to avoid negative judgments, though it often means working without appropriate accommodations.

Remote work an option for accommodating disabilities

During the COVID-19 pandemic in France, workplace norms shifted rapidly, particularly with the widespread adoption of remote work as a protective measure. This sudden shift offered new opportunities for some disabled workers to access accommodations previously unavailable to them. At the end of the French lockdown, the eventual rollback of these exceptional measures led some disabled workers to reconsider their decisions to conceal their disability. Especially when they were worried about losing remote work accommodations, which they perceived as essential to preventing the worsening of their disability if they contracted COVID-19.

My research includes participant observations at meetings of associations on invisible disabilities and at networks meetings of disability managers. It also involves the collection of archival data, including legal, para-legal, and internal corporate communications. I conducted 87 interviews with actors of the ecosystem of disability at work, including disabled workers, HR, company nurses and psychologists, representatives from Agefiph and Cap Emploi, members of associations on invisible disability, and trade union representatives.

COVID-19 a catalyst in disclosing invisible disability at work

I didn’t talk about my [invisible disability] at work for over three years. It’s only been a year and a half since I finally opened up about it. During the COVID-19 period, I felt it was necessary as my [invisible disability] put me at higher risk. I was part of the vulnerable group. I didn’t want there to be speculation or questions from other departments that might eventually reach my manager or the associate director. So, I decided to be upfront. Especially since I was working from home for a year and a half.

– Aaron, working in software development, December 2021 –

As exemplified in this quote, the COVID-19 pandemic in France has disrupted the normative framework for (non-)disclosure of invisible disabilities at work, altering the boundaries of what is and isn’t said about privacy between employees and managers. In France, a new administrative category of employee emerged during this period—what Aaron referred to as the “vulnerable group” if they contract COVID-19. This category was progressively associated with a set of specific rights and accommodations, particularly regarding access to remote work.

These French work-related policies, which could only be activated with a declaration of a vulnerability to their employer, forced some disabled workers to reconsider their position on concealment/disclosure of their invisible disability at work. For instance, Madison, who found herself obligated to remain physically present at her workplace because a remote work was incompatible with her role, deemed essential, explained that even though she did not take the step of disclosing her invisible disability during the first wave of COVID-19, she did it during the second wave:

The COVID-19 was starting to come back again and so I decided to talk about [my invisible disability to my manager] because I said to myself, I’m pulling on the rope and I can feel that it’s going to give out soon. In fact, I talked about it more for safety’s sake, to protect myself.

– Madison, working in a retirement home, March 2022 –

Increasingly concerned that contracting COVID-19 could exacerbate her health conditions, Madison felt that she had no other alternative but to disclose her disabilities to her manager to stay at home. However, as was the case for Aaron, this disclosure ran counter to her personal choice, as without the COVID-19 pandemic, she would certainly have continued to keep her medical situation private, in line with her legal right and medical secrecy.

In 2022, although COVID-19 caused less concern among the general public and government representatives, who have learned to better deal with its consequences, it continued to circulate and to remain a source of worry for people with vulnerable medical conditions. To meet the needs of people likely to be vulnerable to the virus, the French government has implemented successive decrees (Figure 1), allowing these people to stay at home or partially work. Nonetheless, for employees to benefit from the measures offered by this decree, they needed to officially declare their disability.

COVID-19 reveals the invisible frontiers of workplace hybridization

The COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in the hybridization of French workplaces. The hybridization of workplaces is defined here as a flexible working model that combines in-person and remote work. In this configuration, within the same team or company, there is a mix of physical presence and virtual collaboration, where some employees may work entirely remotely, others entirely on-site, and some may alternate between the two.

During this period, both organizations and employees underwent significant transformation in their working model. Andrew’s case —another example of an employee who had not disclosed his disability status to his line manager prior to the COVID-19 pandemic—also reveals how the pandemic catalyzed the shift to a hybrid work organization, as told by his line manager:

We had no remote work provision before the COVID-19 pandemic. So, before the pandemic, I worked on-site with Andrew for a year and a half. At the time, I didn’t know whether he had a disability certificate. Then, when I returned on site in May after the lockdown, I was informed by HR: “Andrew has a disability certificate and will continue working remotely permanently.”

– Line Manager of Andrew, working in IT consulting firm, March 2023 –

Forced to adapt to new working conditions, both managers and employees continued to operate within hybrid arrangements after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Conditions that proved to be more accommodating for certain types of disabilities. Ava for instance, expressed how working mainly from home offered an ideal work environment:

A world where people work remotely 90% of the year. For me, that’s the ideal world [with my ASD]. Social distancing, the mask and remote work. The COVID-19 in fact. That was my ideal world.

– Ava, working in a chemical industry, October 2022 –

This hybrid work organizing, initially adopted as an improvised response to the COVID-19 pandemic, proved to be a revelation for Ava as this alternative work environment aligned more closely with her needs than traditional, fully on-site work structure.

Mental health at work: a shift towards a freer voice

In France, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a cultural shift that allowed people to cross invisible organizational boundaries of disability at work. As illustrated by George, the pandemic generated a societal shift within which people became more empathetic with the conditions of others:

Perhaps it’s less taboo to discuss illness following an event like COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest difference has been in how mental health is approached. For instance, just a few weeks ago, we participated in a steering committee meeting with elected representatives from Brouville conurbation to discuss projections related to integration policy, employment, etc.

During this meeting, I raised the issue of mental health, and I found that the elected representatives were very receptive. They confirmed that we have a problem with young people who have suffered during COVID-19. Perhaps in another context, they could have said they had other priorities. But, no, in this case, we can see that the subject of mental health is increasingly present.

– George, working at Cap Emploi, April 2023 –

What, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, was considered secondary or taboo, is now recognized as a priority in policy discussions. The increased empathy for mental health care highlighted in this quote is a response to the collective experience of vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many workers were directly or indirectly confronted with fragile health, the need for solidarity and alternative ways of organizing work. This experience catalyzed a shift towards a work environment more attentive to disability, mental health and general well-being, which prior to the pandemic had often been sidelined in favor of economic priorities.

Opening up discussions on invisible disability at work

The COVID-19 crisis in France triggered a structural transformation in how disabled workers, organization managers, and state representatives address the health needs at work. This not only marks a significant transition towards alternative modes of work organizing, such as the normalization of hybrid workplaces, but also helps to dismantle taboos on invisible disabilities at work. Although the road to inclusion of disability at work remains long, as highlighted in the first section by the obligation to disclose private medical conditions for accessing 100% remote work accommodation, opening up discussions on invisible disability at work represents an important step forward.