Disclosure or Nondisclosure—Is This the Question?

In their focal article ‘‘Invisible Disabilities: Unique Challenges for Employees and Organizations,’’ Santuzzi, Waltz, Finkelstein, and Rupp (2014) argue that people with invisible disabilities are insufficiently protected by legislation and policies at their workplaces. Accordingly, they suggest that existing acts such as the ADA and ADAAA (ADA, 1990; ADA Amendments Act, 2008) need to be substantially adapted. We concur with their argumentation and agree that legislation and policies, in their current form, rather impede the process of disclosing a disability instead of contributing to an improved situation of people with invisible disabilities at work. In our commentary we extend Santuzzi et al.’s work by highlighting the role of the employing organization itself, particularly the organizational culture and climate, in facilitating disclosure of invisible disabilities, an aspect that the focal article only slightly touches upon. Furthermore, we argue for taking a more international perspective on factors that may help or hinder the process of disclosing disabilities at work.

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