Content Overview 
- Overview
- What Is The Right Time To Go On Disability?
- Do Not Speak Of "Disability" As If It Is A Choice
- Whether And When To Go On Disability Is A Question Of Your Mental And Physical Health And Your Finances -- Not Of Morality Or Other Issues
- Steps To Take To Prepare To Leave Work And Go On Disability
- Should I Keep Leaving Work A Secret?
- When It Is Time To Leave Work, Who At Your Employer's Should You Tell?
Work: Preparing For Disability -- Short Term
Should I Keep Leaving Work A Secret?
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In general, keeping secrets is stressful. Stress is harmful to your immune system, -- so we are not in favor of keeping secrets. However, depending on the secret and the setting, there may be overriding circumstances when it is in your best interest to keep a secret.
In our experience, most people prefer not to announce their intention of leaving work until they are actually ready to do it. It is not as if the employer can prevent it, but it gives you more control over the situation if you wait to tell the employer when you are ready to leave. Waiting also leaves open the possibility that you may get an advancement or an increase in salary or a bonus before your employer knows.
On the other hand, if you at least let the Human Resources department know of your intention, you can ask for their assistance in reviewing all the benefits to which you may be entitled, and for their help in determining how to maximize the benefits you receive. For example, Cathy's condition had reached the point that it was time to stop work. She told her employer that she was going on permanent disability and would not be able to return. Because she was not returning, the employer denied Family and Medical Leave Act coverage so that Cathy immediately had to start paying her own insurance premiums under COBRA. If she had said she had to take some time off, and later found she couldn't return, her insurance would have been paid for the 12 weeks of FMLA.