How to Tell Your Boss You Have a Psychological Injury at Work

When you think of getting injured at work, you probably envision something physical. While bumps, bruises, and more are common in the workplace and should be treated as seriously as possible, they’re not the only type of workplace injury. A mental injury at work can come from circumstances and obligations piling up. Work-related stress is a true ailment and should not be ignored. Because it’s not visible, it might seem like you shouldn’t call attention to it. However, you owe it to your employer and to yourself to disclose it. Here’s how to tell your boss you have a psychological injury at work.

Understand Your Boss

Depending on how long you’ve been working for your company, you could have a great idea of what your boss’ temperament is like, or be relatively unaware. Disclosing a psychological injury needs to be done the right way. Some bosses will present themselves as incredibly sensitive and thoughtful towards their employees. They’ll ask questions about your well-being with the utmost care and concern (without prying in, of course). However, others will be a bit more guarded. They’ll be respectful towards you and the work you do, but they’ll want to keep things as professional as possible. Things like mental duress among employees might not cross their minds unless they’re told.

These aren’t the only two types of bosses, of course. It’s up to you to understand what your boss is like and the best way to disclose this information. No circumstances make it completely easy. Even if you are on as friendly terms as possible with your boss, you might feel trepidation. This could be a revelation for them. If you’re telling a boss who you’re less close with, you should cut to the chase. Tell them right away what happened and the psychological impact on you.

Choose a Good Time to Tell Them

There’s no “best time” to tell your boss about this. They’ll always have other things to keep in mind. You might feel nervous about bothering them, but imagine if this was a physical injury. Would you wait around for it to get worse and worse or do something about it? While there is no perfect time to tell your boss of a mental injury, certain times are better than others.

You shouldn’t tell them when they are visibly harried. If they are working intently on something with a pressing deadline, you should wait. You also shouldn’t do it in a time when they’re with another person. You want to give yourselves as much privacy as possible and not make other people feel potentially uncomfortable. The best course of action might be to bring it up towards the end of the day. Practice what you want to say. Don’t hold up your boss longer than you need to.

Determine How to Help Them Help You

Reporting a psychological injury is just a start. You need to work with your boss to understand causes that result in psychological injury at work. Then, you need to find out the best way to minimize those risk factors. You might not be able to undo everything that causes you stress, but you can gain a good understanding of what influences it.

Maybe the placement of your desk is causing you problems; you could be getting stressed out by too much light. You might also be taking on too many assignments at once and rushing through them in an attempt to get them all done. You should do your own soul-searching to determine what the root of your stress is. Then, you and your boss should decide what accommodations would be the most reasonable.

File for Workers Compensation

Stress-related workers compensation claims are just as valid as physical injury ones. If something happens to you at work that prevents you from doing your job properly, you deserve to be given the proper compensation. During the time you need to recover, you need to be given the opportunity to concentrate on yourself to your best ability. This might mean taking part in therapy or going to a rehab that specializes in mental health.

When filing stress claims workers compensation, make sure you have an explanation read, so that your boss knows exactly why it’s necessary. They might not ask about it or contest it. However, they might dispute it. This doesn’t make it invalid. Your rights as an employee prevent discrimination for any sort of disability. You have every right to fight for yourself. Explain to your boss how important your mental health is not only for yourself but for the workplace. They should understand with a proper explanation. It can be difficult to do this, as it can make you feel vulnerable. However, it’s much better than suffering in silence.