The majority (88 per cent) of employees with a disability or who are neurodivergent have chosen to disclose their condition to at least one person at work, according to a new survey by Deloitte Global.

The survey, which polled 10,000 employees with disabilities, chronic health conditions or neurodivergence across 20 countries, found 78 per cent chose to disclose to HR and 73 per cent to a direct supervisor. Only a third (35 per cent) chose to disclose to colleagues who were of less or equal seniority and 31 per cent to colleagues outside their team.

Those who chose to keep their condition private cited concern over discrimination and potential impacts to their career progression. A fifth (21 per cent) cited a negative experience after disclosing to a previous employer.

Read: How KPMG is recruiting, supporting employees with disabilities, neurodiversity

Only a quarter of employees who disclosed to their employer asked for workplace accommodations, and of those, 74 per cent had at least one request rejected for reasons such as cost (41 per cent), difficulty (30 per cent) or that their request was unreasonable (29 per cent).

Two-fifths (41 per cent) of respondents reported experiencing microaggressions, harassment or bullying at work in the past year and 52 per cent said they reported those behaviours to their employer. The most commonly cited reasons for not reporting these behaviours were concerns that the behaviour would worsen, that the complaint wouldn’t be taken seriously and not feeling the behaviour was serious enough to report.

Notably, 30 per cent of respondents said people made negative assumptions about their competence in the past year and more than a quarter said they were passed over for a promotion or their performance was negatively evaluated in the last year.

Read: How employers can support neurodiverse employees

Nearly half (48 per cent) of those who work from home at least part-time said their home is more accessible than their employer’s premises. They cited benefits such as reducing threats to their health (55 per cent), direct access to care at home (46 per cent) and fewer concerns about discrimination and harassment (29 per cent). Only nine per cent of respondents said they’re able to work from home every day.

Six in 10 (60 per cent) employees said they’ve missed one work event or meeting due to a lack of accessibility, while 38 per cent were unable to attend at least one work-related event outside their workplace and 33 per cent were unable to attend a work event in their workplace due to a lack of accessibility.

“Organizations have a responsibility to support their employees and create an environment where everyone feels included and can reach their full potential,” said Elizabeth Faber, chief people and purpose officer at Deloitte Global, in a press release. “To build more disability-inclusive organizations, leaders need to remove barriers and provide opportunities necessary to help support all employees to succeed in their careers.”

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