Mental health disclosure in the workplace - An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the employee experience
Kavanagh, NiamhORCID: 0009-0007-6269-7009 and Heffernan, MargaretORCID: 0000-0002-7299-867X
(2023)
Mental health disclosure in the workplace - An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the employee experience.
Irish Journal of Management
.
ISSN 1649-248X
The decision to disclose or not disclose a diagnosis of mental illness (MI) is complex and influenced by a variety of factors.
Research into MI disclosure has commonly focused on investigating the singular parts of the disclosure process, thus failing to
capture an understanding of the individual’s holistic experience of MI disclosure. This paper seeks to gain an understanding of the
phenomenon of workplace MI disclosure from the perspective of the disclosing employee. By doing so we gain an understanding
of how they make sense of this experience which should help shape MI workplace policies and practices. Using a qualitative
research approach and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), interviews took place with three Irish women who had
previously disclosed a mental illness in the workplace. Within the findings, three superordinate themes emerged: (1) Antecedents of
Disclosure, (2) Disclosure Outcomes and the Organisation (3) Disclosure Outcomes and the Self. Without an understanding of the
consequent impact of disclosure on employees’ post-disclosure work-life, appropriate resources and supports cannot be developed.