By Dan Morgan-Williams, Founding Director of Visualise Training and Consultancy
Many employees with visual impairment, hearing loss, or other disabilities stay silent about their support needs. They navigate their roles quietly, pushing through barriers and concealing challenges—until they burn out, resign, or something goes seriously wrong.
For employers, this silence isn’t just a human issue—it’s a strategic one. It affects wellbeing, performance, retention, and legal compliance. In this article, we’ll explore why disabled employees may not disclose their needs, the hidden costs of inaction, and what HR professionals and line managers can do to create a culture of trust, visibility, and meaningful support.
Why Employees Stay Silent
Disclosure is a profoundly personal decision. Many people with visual impairment or hearing loss choose not to disclose their condition for several valid reasons:
• Fear of being judged, stereotyped, or treated differently
• Concern about job security or career progression
• Negative past experiences with employers or colleagues
• Internalised stigma or not wanting to be seen as ‘a burden’
• Simply not knowing what support is available or how to ask for it
One common scenario involves employees who have acquired sight or hearing loss later in life. They may still be adjusting, unsure of how to explain their needs, or unaware that what they’re experiencing legally qualifies as a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
The Hidden Cost of Silence
When an employee doesn’t disclose their needs, the organisation risks missing a critical opportunity to support them effectively. This can result in:
• Decreased productivity due to inaccessible systems or environments
• Increased stress, fatigue, and risk of burnout
• Higher sickness absence
• Poor employee engagement and morale
• Unexpected resignations or exit interviews revealing preventable issues
• Legal liability if adjustments should have been offered and weren’t
Silence doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. It just means the problem is hidden—until it’s too late.
What Disclosure Could Look Like
Disclosure doesn’t have to be a dramatic, formal conversation. It could be as simple as:
• “I’m starting to find it hard to read the screen clearly.”
• “I’m struggling to follow conversations in meetings.”
• “I’ve noticed I get exhausted trying to concentrate all day.”
However, in many workplaces, even these simple statements can be challenging to make—especially if the culture doesn’t support open, judgment-free conversations about differences, access, or support.
What Stops Line Managers Responding?
Even when employees speak up, some line managers freeze, not out of malice—but out of uncertainty.
• “Am I allowed to ask questions?”
• “What if I say the wrong thing?”
• “Do I need to go through HR first?”
This confusion causes delays—and sometimes complete inaction. A manager might intend to raise it with HR but forget to do so. Or they may believe they’re being supportive by ‘not making a fuss’ and leaving things as they are. In reality, this can lead to avoidable risk and harm.
The Role of HR in Breaking the Silence
HR professionals can play a vital role in creating a workplace culture where it feels safe to speak up. This includes:
• Normalising conversations about accessibility and disability
• Providing line managers with clear guidance and confidence to act
• Offering workplace assessments early—not just when things reach crisis point
• Ensuring policies explicitly support sensory disabilities, not just visible ones
• Promoting inclusive communication and flexible adjustments as standard
When inclusion is built into day-to-day working culture, disclosure stops being a scary step—it becomes a conversation, not a confession.
Real-Life Impact: A Case Study
Jasmine, a project coordinator, was slowly losing her hearing. She told no one. In team meetings, she’d nod and guess what was being said. In one instance, she missed a key instruction and was reprimanded for a mistake that wasn’t her fault.
It wasn’t until she broke down in her one-to-one that her manager realised something was wrong. A workplace assessment was arranged, and she was offered a hearing aid and live captioning for meetings. But by then, her confidence had taken a serious hit.
If the environment had been open and supportive from the start, Jasmine may have felt safe speaking up sooner.
Simple Ways to Encourage Openness
- Use inclusive language in recruitment and onboarding.
• Share success stories of adjustments working well.
• Provide private, judgment-free channels for staff to raise concerns.
• Make workplace adjustments a standard agenda item in reviews.
• Offer disability and sensory inclusion training company-wide.
• Ensure every line manager knows what to do when someone asks for support.
What You Can Do Today
- Review how adjustments are requested and documented.
2. Check your policies for sensory disability inclusion.
3. Run an awareness campaign around sight and hearing loss.
4. Talk to your workplace assessment provider about proactive support.
5. Ask your team: “If you needed support, would you feel safe asking for it?”
Final Thoughts
Silence is not the absence of need—it’s a response to fear, stigma, or experience. If we want to support disabled employees effectively, we must create conditions where speaking up doesn’t feel risky.
We see this pattern every day—employees burning out when simple adjustments could have made all the difference. We’re here to help employers get things right from the beginning.
If you’d like to learn more about how a sensory workplace assessment could support your team, visit this page – we’re ready when you are.