Asking for accommodations at work without disclosing more than you want

Started by CassetteFuture · · 1 reply · last changed

CassetteFuture ·

Learned the hard way that you can often get the accommodation without the whole conversation. Nobody needs your diagnosis to hear "I do my best work with written instructions — can we do this over email?" or "I concentrate better with headphones; flag me on chat and I'll respond fast."

Frame it as how you work best, not as a medical request, and most reasonable managers just… say yes. Save the formal disclosure route for when the informal one fails — you can always escalate, you can't un-disclose.

SpoonCount ·

Strong agree, with the caveat: get even informal agreements into writing ("great, thanks — confirming per our chat that X"). Friendly managers change; email threads don't. And if you're in the UK, know that once you do disclose, reasonable adjustments stop being a favour and start being the law.

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