The invisible reality
South African companies have made real progress in diversity and inclusion. Employment equity targets and transformation strategies are rightly emphasised, and disability is increasingly recognised as a critical component. Yet beneath the policies lies a quieter reality: many employees with disabilities, especially those with invisible or psychosocial conditions, are reluctant to disclose their status at work.
Disclosure is not a formality, it is a deeply personal act of vulnerability that depends on one thing above all: trust. And in too many organisations, that trust has not been earned.
The prevalence we cannot ignore
The scale of the issue is significant. According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), one in three South Africans will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. Stats SA estimates that 3.3 million South Africans, about 5 to 7 percent of the population, live with a disability, and many of these are invisible.
In the workplace, studies suggest around 12.8 percent of employees live with a diagnosable mental illness. A recent SADAG “Working Life Survey” revealed that more than half of employees reported being diagnosed with conditions such as depression, stress, burnout or anxiety.
Yet disclosure rates remain far lower. The gap is not about policy, it is about culture. People may know there are equity targets, reasonable accommodation measures and transformation strategies on paper, but when the culture feels unsafe, they will not step forward.
The silence and the secret
Disclosure is not simply about ticking a compliance box, it is about trust. Employees fear judgement, career-limiting consequences or being labelled “difficult.” They have seen colleagues marginalised or quietly side-lined after revealing a condition.
In my work, I see this every day. For many, disability disclosure is not a neutral HR process, it is the sharing of a personal, intimate piece of information. Particularly when the condition is not visible, employees carry it quietly, knowing that once it is spoken out loud it cannot be taken back.
In their minds, disclosure is charged with risk: What will my manager think of me? Will I still be trusted with opportunities? Will I be judged as less capable or side-lined? Will I be talked about in hallways or negatively in boardrooms?
The fear is not abstract, it is visceral. Employees imagine the subtle shifts in tone, the side conversations, the raised eyebrows, the assumptions about their abilities, none of which can be controlled once the information is out. This fear of irreversible judgement is why silence so often feels safer than openness.
Trust must be earned
At the heart of disclosure lies trust. Employees must believe that what they share will be treated with dignity, confidentiality and care. Trust is not given automatically, it is earned through consistent behaviour, visible presence and genuine human connection.
We can put all the policies, procedures and compliance frameworks in place to support employees, but none of them will matter if people do not feel that humans are prepared to engage with them emotionally. Disclosure requires a human intervention, the kind of moment where someone looks you in the eye, listens deeply, and treats what you share with respect. No policy manual or training programme can substitute for that.
And here lies one of the biggest cultural gaps: the distance between HR and executives, and between both of them and employees. HR may create the frameworks, and executives may sign them off in boardrooms, but when neither is visible to employees, the message is clear — inclusion is a paperwork exercise, not a lived reality.
Two incidents brought this home to me recently, and they are what prompted me to write this article.
The first was during a disability awareness session I facilitated. HR had organised the session, where we explored the definition of disability, unpacked different types, discussed reasonable accommodation and emphasised confidentiality, but no one from HR actually attended. To employees, that absence sent a message: this is your issue, not ours. What should have been an opportunity to build credibility and connection was lost.
The second incident was during an environmental accessibility assessment at a client site far from head office. As I arrived, the Facilities Manager asked me: “Is HR from head office joining you? They arranged this, after all.” When I explained they were not attending, his disappointment was obvious. He told me he had worked at that site for nearly twenty years, believed in disability inclusion, but had never once met anyone from HR. That moment said everything. For employees, the absence of HR presence reinforces the feeling that disability and inclusion are managed from afar, not lived within their culture.
Showing up matters
Trust begins with presence. Being in the room, listening to lived experiences and participating fully in conversations about disability sends a powerful signal that inclusion is not something outsourced, but something owned.
I have seen how powerful this can be. When HR or executives join awareness sessions, not just as observers but as participants, employees lean in. They ask more questions, they share more openly, they start to believe that their disclosures will not be used against them. Simply showing up can change the entire energy in the room.
Practical ways HR and leadership can build a disclosure-friendly culture include:
- Visible presence: Employees notice when HR and executives show up, not only when problems arise.
- Confidentiality assurances: Employees need certainty that their disclosures will not travel further than necessary.
- Real conversations: Move beyond policy documents into spaces where employees feel heard and valued.
- Modelling vulnerability: When leaders share their own challenges, it signals safety and acceptance.
- Equipping managers: Training line managers in empathy and practical response is critical, since most disclosures happen at line level, not HR level.
The cost of silence
Non-disclosure carries significant costs. Organisations cannot provide reasonable accommodation if they do not know what employees need. Silence leads to presenteeism, underperformance and higher turnover. It undermines trust and belonging, and it makes inclusion feel like rhetoric rather than reality.
Beyond the numbers, silence costs people. It costs them the chance to feel fully part of their workplace, to bring their whole selves to work, and to know that their challenges will be met with understanding rather than suspicion.
Inclusion starts with trust
True inclusion is not built by compliance alone, but by human moments where employees feel safe enough to be seen. We can have all the policies in the world, but if people do not see HR and executives show up, listen and engage, those policies will sit in files without changing lives.
Disclosure is deeply personal, shaped by fears of judgement in hallways and boardrooms alike. But with trust, those fears can be replaced by confidence that employees will be supported, not side-lined.
This is what rehumanising HR looks like: making space for the whole person, not just the employee record. In doing so, organisations not only unlock disclosure, they unlock the true potential of inclusion.
