Phobias

An employee with agoraphobia works from home full-time as a benefit of employment.

When new management comes on board, the whole telework program is scrapped and everyone is required to return to the office. The employee, who never had to disclose and ask for an accommodation, now asks for a policy modification that would allow him to continue to work from home. The new management considers his request and finds no hardship in allowing him to remain at home to complete his job tasks.

A paramedic was finding it increasingly difficult to go out on runs because of a phobia that involved roaches.

He asked that enough personnel be dispatched to each scene that would enable him to remain in the vehicle. The employer could not guarantee that it would always be possible, so they agreed to look into reassignment. He was successfully reassigned to a 911 dispatch position that was vacant, where he wouldn’t be required to go on the problematic runs.

An adjuster for an insurance company developed a fear of heights and using ladders after a recent fall from a roof.

The employer looked at the options of providing safety gear to the employee as well as reassigning him to a position without the height / use of ladders requirement. The adjuster truly wanted to stay in his job, and since the use of ladders for heights isn’t something he does every day, they decided to obtain safety gear so that he wouldn’t fall again.

An employer was notified that the only supervisor he had in a particular department had a phobia towards a specific group of people.

The supervisor asked to be excused from supervising a new employee from this people group. Since she was the only supervisor in that area, the employer could not remove the duty or give it to another. By attending the meetings himself with the supervisor and this particular employee, the employer was able to reduce the anxiety the supervisor was feeling and eventually enable her to meet with the person (and others) without the extra support.

An administrative assistant who worked in a small office was reassigned to another position when her position was eliminated due to a reduction in the work flow.

Her new environment was an open area that didn’t allow her to sit with her back to the wall, escalating her fear of being in open spaces. She was accommodated by a move to the outskirts of the large area. Her workspace was reoriented so she was able to sit with her back to a partition that was near a wall.

An employee with anxiety and a driving phobia takes public transportation to work.

After a company restructure, the employee was moved to work in a new location that would necessitate a lengthy commute involving two buses and a train. She disclosed her disability and asked for accommodations. She was accommodated by remaining at her current location, with a change in supervisor to the one who would oversee the employees in that location. Although her current supervisor was going to the new location, her job would remain the same.