Handle PTSD as an Employee: Triggers, Workplace Accommodations, and Getting Support
"Why does a loud noise or a tense meeting leave me shaken for the rest of the day?"
If you have lived through something frightening or overwhelming, a regular workday can bring reminders you did not choose: a slammed door, a raised voice, a certain smell, or a performance conversation that feels like a threat.
This article shares what the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Job Accommodation Network say, so you can understand what you may be experiencing and where support exists at work. It is general information and not a diagnosis or legal advice. Only a mental health professional can diagnose PTSD.
What It Means to Handle PTSD as an Employee
The National Center for PTSD describes posttraumatic stress disorder as a mental health problem that can develop after a person goes through or sees a life-threatening event. Most people feel shaken after something frightening, and the Center explains that most stress reactions improve within a few weeks. PTSD is different because the symptoms last and begin to interfere with daily life, including work.
The Center groups PTSD symptoms into four types, and a diagnosis involves symptoms from each type:
Reliving the event. Unwanted memories, nightmares, flashbacks, or strong distress when something reminds you of what happened.
Avoidance. Staying away from people, places, or situations that bring the experience to mind.
Negative thoughts and feelings. Numbness, loss of interest, guilt, shame, or a feeling that the world is dangerous.
Feeling on edge. Trouble sleeping or concentrating, being easily startled, or irritability.
At work, these symptoms are easy to misread, including by the person who has them. Poor sleep and trouble concentrating may look like a productivity problem. Avoiding a certain meeting room or a particular coworker may look like being difficult.
Jumpiness in a crowded open office may look like a bad attitude. A response to trauma has a different cause, and being gentle with yourself while you look for support is a sound first step.
Your Workplace Rights as You Handle PTSD as an Employee
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) explains that employees with PTSD are protected from discrimination and harassment because of the condition, and that PTSD should easily qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A few points from that guidance are worth knowing:
In most situations you can keep your condition private. Employers may ask medical questions only in limited circumstances, such as when you request an accommodation.
If you share your condition, the employer must keep that information confidential, even from coworkers.
You can ask for an accommodation at any time, from a supervisor, an HR manager, or another appropriate person, and you do not need to know the exact change you want.
The employer may ask for a letter from your health care provider, and a general description of your condition can be enough if you prefer not to share a diagnosis.
Employers must provide an accommodation unless it causes significant difficulty or expense, and they cannot retaliate against you for asking.
This is general information and not legal advice. A qualified attorney or your state's fair employment agency can answer questions about your specific situation.
Accommodation Ideas When You Handle PTSD as an Employee
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) offers free, confidential guidance and lists ideas for different symptoms. It notes that not every employee with PTSD needs accommodations. Ideas include:
Triggers: a modified workspace that limits trigger-related sights or sounds, cubicle shields or shades, telework, or a support person.
Feeling startled: a desk position where people do not approach from behind, noise-canceling headsets, or white noise.
Concentration: uninterrupted work time, a flexible or modified break schedule, and written instructions.
Memory: calendars, reminders, recorded directives, and extra training time.
Panic and flashbacks: a modified break schedule to recover, flexible scheduling or telework during difficult periods, and a support person.
Therapy appointments: a flexible schedule that works around treatment.
The Department of Labor's FMLA fact sheet on mental health also explains that mental health conditions can be serious health conditions under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period.
To be eligible, you generally need 12 months with the employer, 1,250 hours of service in the prior 12 months, and a worksite with at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Your HR team can tell you whether you qualify.
Treatment and Support as You Handle PTSD as an Employee
The National Center for PTSD names three trauma-focused psychotherapies as the most highly recommended treatments: Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Certain medications can also help, and a prescriber can talk through the benefits and side effects with you.
The Center advises talking with a doctor or mental health provider if your symptoms last longer than a month, feel very upsetting, or disrupt your daily life. A primary care provider is a good first stop. Many employers also offer an Employee Assistance Program, which the U.S. Office of Personnel Management describes as a voluntary, work-based program that offers free and confidential short-term counseling and referrals, including help with trauma. Check your benefits materials to see what yours includes.
If you are in crisis or having thoughts of ending your life, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at any time. Veterans can call 988 and press 1. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
In my experience as a life coach, employees who treat their mental health as part of their career, and not as something to hide from it, tend to feel steadier and more able to ask for what they need.
What happened to you shaped you, and it does not have to run your workday. Support exists, it works for many people, and reaching for it is a strong decision.
Ready to Move Forward With Steady Support?
If you want a calm, supportive place to think through your next steps at work, you do not have to figure it out alone. Book a Free 30-Minute Chat with Asi Efros to talk through a plan that fits you.
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