How disability disclosure can improve veterinary work-life

Working in veterinary medicine is tough, with long hours and constant demands. Against this backdrop, Justyna Borkowska-Rozanska MRCVS stresses that creating an inclusive workplace where vets feel safe to disclose disabilities is essential. This openness improves communication, support and teamwork,  making the job easier and more rewarding for all.

Beneath the surface: disability, disclosure, and wellbeing

In the veterinary profession, passion, precision, and resilience are often viewed as essential traits. However, beneath the surface of this high-intensity field, many veterinary professionals are managing disabilities, both visible and invisible, while striving to meet the demands of clinical work, client care, and team collaboration.

For those individuals, the ability to disclose their disability and communicate openly about their needs can be transformative - not only for their wellbeing, but for their job satisfaction and long-term retention in the profession.

The veterinary sector is in a difficult situation and lack of job satisfaction is one of the problems, yet reports suggest that the most inclusive and diverse companies thrive (1, 2, 3).

Why disability disclosure matters

The decision to disclose a disability is never easy. In veterinary practice - where time is short, emotions run high, and expectations are steep - some professionals may worry that disclosure might be seen as a weakness or lead to assumptions about their capabilities (4).

The myth that being disabled makes a vet or veterinary nurse
less worthwhile is still commonplace.

Inclusivity within the veterinary professions is increasing, but the myth that being disabled makes a vet or veterinary nurse less worthwhile is still commonplace. However, being able to disclose allows a person to ask for the support and accommodations needed to do their jobs effectively.

Cultural barriers and invisible struggles

The UK veterinary sector includes multinational vets, nurses and support staff who come from cultural backgrounds where there are different forms and levels of stigma associated with disability. This may in turn lead to vets and nurses already highly masking and/or powering through in the workplace, not considering what their adjustments might be, and not knowing that they could be partially relieved of the burden of constantly levelling up to others.

What disclosure can enable

For veterinary professionals and veterinary support staff, disclosure can lead to:

• Requesting flexible scheduling to manage chronic conditions or mental health needs.
• Asking for physical adjustments in a clinical space not designed with accessibility in mind.
• Sharing neurodivergent traits and how they present, sharing communication preferences to improve teamwork.
• Having a safe space and opportunities to share communication preferences or work routines with colleagues to improve team understanding of adjustments and help prevent negative perceptions of adjustments.
• Reducing the burden of masking, especially for those with invisible disabilities like neurodivergence or mental illness.

When disclosure happens in supportive environments, it allows individuals to be seen and heard and can lead to increased engagement, improved mental health, and deeper job satisfaction. It can be a truly life-changing experience.

The role of communication in clinical teams

In fast-paced vet clinics or hospitals, communication is already a critical skill, both with clients and with team members. However, this becomes more difficult when discussing disability-related needs because it can be a sensitive topic. Whether it’s between a vet and their practice manager, a vet nurse and their supervisor, or a veterinary support or admin team member and HR, effective communication is what turns disclosure into a highly positive change with benefits for every stakeholder involved.

In practice, this should include:

• Creating space for honest conversations at every level. Whether in one-on-ones or informal check-ins, managers can invite open and sincere dialogue about what’s working and what’s not.
• Recommending and following-up with referrals to occupational health (OH) assessments is key. Sometimes a person with a disability might not be aware of the adjustments available or what might be helpful. OH professionals’ suggestions are usually low cost and effective at removing barriers to working. It is worth noting that diagnosis doesn’t always come with knowledge of what adjustments will be necessary or needed. Managing types and levels of adjustments is typically an ongoing process.
• Normalising adjustments - flexible breaks, assistive technology, or sensory-friendly environments shouldn’t be viewed as ‘special treatment’ - they’re tools that will help all team members level up with others, optimise their performance and allow them to thrive.
• Staying open and adaptive - needs may change over time, especially in response to caseloads, life stages, or health shifts. Ongoing dialogue and OH reassessments are key.
• Creating an open environment where all team members are not only aware of reasonable adjustments but also understand why adjustments are necessary.
• Creating a psychologically safe environment for both the disabled colleague and the rest of the team to discuss the support they might need.

How culture shapes confidence

In the veterinary field, where staff burnout and attrition are high (5), fostering a culture of psychological safety is essential. Disclosure and communication are likely to flourish in environments where differences are respected, and where inclusion is embedded into the fabric of the practice.

Creating a workplace culture where disclosure and communication can thrive starts with:

• Clear policies that support flexible work, accommodations and knowledge, and understanding of disabilities.
• Avoidance of policies that might indirectly discriminate against disability, such as absence trigger policies and OH referral only by direct managers.
• Training and guidelines for managers on inclusive leadership and communication.
• Training and guidelines for colleagues regarding various types of disabilities and why adjustments are necessary.
• Celebrating diversity of thought and experience within the team.
• Being mindful that the veterinary team consists of not only veterinary professionals but also of veterinary support workers such as technical support or admin support.

The broader impact: adjustments benefit everyone

Feeling safe about disability disclosure improves employee retention in practice, and when adjustments are normalised, the whole team benefits - from improved communication to increased cohesion and trust.

Reports show that implementing reasonable adjustments can improve overall performance, productivity and retention for the entire team, not just disabled employees

There is not enough theoretically driven and methodologically sound research done yet on how reasonable adjustments affect the overall performance of the whole workforce or teams. However, reports show that implementing reasonable adjustments, such as flexible working, adding short breaks and allowing for avoiding sensitivity triggers (for example, using noise-cancelling headphones or removing absence triggers) can improve overall performance, productivity and retention for the entire team, not just disabled employees (6, 7, 8).

What veterinary employers can do

• Proactively communicate what support is available.
• Train leaders and managers to respond to disclosures with empathy and practical solutions.
• Embrace neurodiversity and disability inclusion as strengths that enrich clinical reasoning, problem-solving and overall practice performance.
• Respect confidentiality and autonomy, while fostering open pathways for support.

Final thoughts: compassion in practice

In a profession built on compassion for animals, we must also extend compassion to each other.

When veterinary professionals feel safe to speak up about their disabilities and needs - and when those conversations are met with understanding and action - job satisfaction and performance soar. In an emotionally and physically demanding field such as veterinary medicine, job satisfaction isn’t a ‘nice to have’. It helps to keep people in the profession.

References and further information

1. The Disability Inclusion Imperative, 2021, accenture.com
2. How Diverse Leadership Teams Boost Innovation, 2018, bcg.com
3. Why is Diversity and Inclusion Important, 2022, learning.linkedin.com
4. RCVS and BVCIS Disability and Chronic Illness Survey, 2024 Disability and Chronic Illness Survey summary report - Professionals
5. Veterinarian burnout demographics and organisational impacts: a narrative review, 2023, Front Vet Sci
6. Physical workplace adjustments to support neurodivergent workers: A systematic review, 2023, IAAP Journals
7. The Positive Effect of Workplace Accommodation on Creative Performance of Employees With and Without Disabilities, 2020, Front Psychology
8. Disability myth-busting – reasonable adjustments, 2024, ACAS

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