If one or more of your employees has OCD, you are, first of all, to be commended for wanting more information. Presumably, you want to do right by all of your employees, and this is a great thing.

Employees who have OCD can present certain challenges to employers, as you may know. For one thing, a person who seems “perfectly normal” in virtually every way might suddenly shock you with the information that he can't touch money or drive other employees to off-site events. Or he might exhibit some other seemingly strange behavior.

On the other hand, on occasion, OCD might actually work in an employer's favor, as when a perfectionistic worker is driven to try her absolute hardest for the company.

Hyperorganizational behaviors are another possible asset to a company, though they can act as a double-edged sword if the person is also easily upset when others disturb his space. If the employee's job involves public safety, or if lives depend on her performance, you will probably be a lot better off with an OC employee than with a sociopathic one (or possibly, just about any other kind)! But, as you may also know, a person who has OCD can also present puzzles and even problems.

What Is He So Scared Of?

A person who has OCD might have issues related to the work environment, such as a fear of shared restrooms, handling cash, eating in front of other people, or of flying, giving presentations, driving over highways or bridges, taking elevators, working on a high floor, shaking hands with clients or customers, and more.

Almost anything you can imagine has probably panicked someone who has OCD.

Then again, OCD might create undesirable situations: an employee who is constantly late to work (because she's spending so much time showering or checking locks and appliances before leaving for work in the morning, or turning back along the way because she fears she may have accidentally hit an unlucky pedestrian), someone who needs constant reassurance that he has completed a task, or done so to your satisfaction, and so on.

OCD is a neurological condition. It is not, for what this may be worth, an emotional problem. However, this can be hard to remember. After all, a person who has OCD doesn't need a ramp or a helper dog. He might seem perfectly “normal” in every respect but one. It may even seem as if he merely wants to gain attention or be “different.”

Trust us, this is almost never the case. The great majority of people who have OCD feel ashamed and try not to call attention to their differences. In some cases, an employee might reveal his condition only as a last resort against being fired.

Of course, if your company has an EAP, it would be wise to make that known. Your human resources person should also be able to give you a little guidance.

If you would like to request a release form from your employee, so that his treatment provider can talk with your company's physician or EAP to help decide what accommodations might be reasonable, you would be within your legal rights to do so.

Oh, Come On! Afraid of What?

If you have OCD and are an employer, then you already know firsthand the challenges your situation can present. If you do not, you may be tempted to think that your employee is faking, or that he would jolly well be able to do the things you ask of him if he were motivated enough by the thought of financial, or other, reward, or by the fear of losing his job. This may be true to a degree — but it is true of you, also. Wouldn't you jump into a sewer if it meant escape from a vicious armed criminal who had it in for you? But you wouldn't jump in otherwise, right? Sufficient motivation might make anyone do anything. Hard to understand though it may be, for many people who have OCD, even simple tasks can be fraught with terror.

It's hard to say, of course, whether your employee actually has OCD. It's always possible to manipulate information to one's advantage. But OCD is a real and terrifying neurological condition that often causes genuine suffering. No one who really has it is faking anything. (As a matter of fact, most people who have OCD do everything they can to hide their symptoms from as many people as possible, for as long as possible.)