The Impact of Mental Illness Labels and Self-Initiated Accommodation Requests on Promotion Evaluations

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Yuka Hirayama¹ (hyu1114aaaaa@gmail.com), Atushi Shimotomai¹; ¹Senshu University, School of Human Sciences

Introduction: Workplace prejudice limits employment, reintegration, and career advancement for individuals with mental illnesses (Bortel et al., 2024). Mental illness labels activate stereotypes of incompetence and unreliability (Burçak & Karaoğlu, 2022), biasing hiring decisions (Hipes et al., 2016) and performance evaluations. While workplace accommodations improve job performance (Dunstan & MacEachen, 2014), many employees hesitate to request them due to stigma (Elliott & Reuter, 2023; Follmer et al., 2024). However, little is known about how self-initiated accommodation requests shape evaluators’ perceptions of promotability. This study examines how mental illness labels and accommodation requests influence promotion decisions and workplace attributions. Method: Twenty-three employed adults (18+ years) completed an online cognitive task using jsPsych. A mixed-design experiment was conducted: health information (addiction, depression, physical disability, or no disclosure) was a within-subjects factor, while self-initiated accommodation request (requested vs. not requested) was a between-subjects factor. Results: Findings revealed that individuals labeled with a disability were rated as less promotable (p = 0.014), with addiction eliciting the strongest bias. Self-other similarity ratings varied by condition (p < 0.001) but were reduced when accommodation was requested (p = 0.084). For depression, actively requesting accommodation significantly influenced self-other similarity judgments (p = 0.021). Discussion: Findings suggest that accommodation requests and mental health labels shape evaluators’ perceptions, influencing promotion decisions. Self-initiated requests may affect workplace bias through mechanisms beyond stereotypes. These results highlight the need for policies that mitigate bias and support equitable career advancement.

Topic Area: THINKING: Decision making