3 Ways to Support Employees with Bipolar Disorder

Research-backed recommendations for job design, managerial practice, and culture.

June 20, 2024

HBR Staff/GeorgePeters/Liudmyla Bukhtii/Getty Images

Post

Annotate

Save

Whether leaders know it or not, chances are their workforce contains people with bipolar disorder. This article discusses three measures that organizations can take to bring out the best in employees with this condition: modifying job features, training managers to support them, and promoting a culture of performance and compassion.

More than 40 million adults worldwide, including 3% of U.S. adults, have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. These people often display higher-than-average levels of creativity, empathy, and resilience, yet, even with these traits, many do not achieve their full potential at work. We believe this results in part from suboptimal aspects of job design, managerial practice, and organizational culture that can be modified to amplify bipolar employees’ effectiveness. In this article, we offer three measures that organizations can take to bring out the best in employees with this condition.

Constance Noonan Hadley is an organizational psychologist and founder of the Institute for Life at Work as well as a lecturer at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. She conducts research on employee well-being, relationships, psychological safety, teams, and the future of work. Her goal is to help organizations identify and address pain points so that work life can be improved for all employees.

Hooria Jazaieri is an assistant professor of management at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. She is also a licensed psychotherapist in California, where she spent over 10 years treating people in Silicon Valley diagnosed with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, and depression.

Hillary Anger Elfenbein is the John K. Wallace, Jr. and Ellen A. Wallace Distinguished Professor and a professor of organizational behavior at Washington University’s Olin Business School. She is also a stand-up comedian.

Post