Employee with generalized anxiety, age 28
An employee with generalized anxiety disorder asks her HR director for a remote work arrangement. Without any support, she would have to describe her panic attacks, her broken sleep, and her fear of public transport to an HR panel, which only worsens the anxiety at the very moment of the request. A QR code attached to the remote work request gives the facts without her having to perform them.
This case applies to adults with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or severe social anxiety, who have been in their role for more than 6 months and are requesting a remote work arrangement beyond the standard policy.
The moment
The HR director's office at a small company, annual review. Marion, 28, a communications officer, has come with a request for 4 days of remote work per week (instead of the standard 2 days). She has prepared her arguments. She barely slept the night before.
The HR director opens the file. She sees the request, a one-page rationale written by Marion, and an attached "myHandiQR profile" with a QR code printed on a small card. She scans it. She reads: severe generalized anxiety disorder diagnosed in 2022, on sertraline 100 mg, panic attacks in crowded public transport (commuter trains, rush-hour subway), sleep disrupted by anticipatory stress, excellent work capacity in a calm, predictable environment.
The HR director sets down her pen. She says: "Alright, let's figure out how to organize this. I'll offer you 4 days of remote work, on-site on Thursdays since that's the team day. Can you confirm with the occupational physician?" Marion leaves the office at 10:45 am. It took her 12 minutes to get what she'd feared having to defend through 40 minutes of an anxiety-inducing account.
- You write it
- The QR is in place
- The reader scans
- Understood, without explaining again
Where to place the QR code for this case
A printed A5 profile attached to the formal remote work request, with the QR code clearly visible. Also include it in the file shared with the occupational physician (the key contact for workplace adjustments).
Also add it to the email signature for the exchanges that will follow with HR, the manager, and the occupational physician. Also attach it to CSE (French works council) documents or to the disability officer's file if the company has one.
Avoid informal sharing (Slack, WhatsApp) that could leak. Avoid leaving the profile on the desk where it's exposed in an open-plan office. Avoid mentioning it in a group meeting: the remote work request should stay strictly between her and HR.
For annual performance reviews, a QR code kept within the employee's professional space (personal drive, HR file) allows an incoming manager to understand the arrangements in place without everything having to be re-explained.
Pre-written text templates
The three templates below are written by the adult concerned. The medical vocabulary is precise, to establish the legitimacy of the request, without turning it into an emotional account that is costly to tell.
For the "About me" section
"Marion, 28, communications officer for 3 years at this company. Severe generalized anxiety disorder diagnosed in 2022. On sertraline 100 mg, in weekly psychotherapy. My professional performance is stable (ratings of 4.2/5 over 2 years). My areas of attention: dense noisy environments, crowded public transport, unplanned meetings."
For the "How to help" section
"You can: grant me 4 days of remote work with on-site on Thursdays (my team's day), give me 48 hours' notice before any unplanned in-person meeting, let me step out for 10 minutes if a meeting runs past 90 minutes, communicate in writing for sensitive points, confirm arrangements with the occupational physician within the legal framework."
For the "What to avoid" section
"To avoid: asking me to "describe my panic attacks in detail" to assess my request, comparing my situation to that of unaffected colleagues, repeatedly questioning an arrangement that's already been granted (uncertainty reignites the anxiety), suggesting a part-time therapeutic schedule when I can manage full time remotely, requiring an internal psychological assessment."
Conditions relevant to this case
This case starts from severe generalized anxiety disorder. It also applies to panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, social phobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder in its workplace dimension (triggers in an office environment).
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View the caseThis situation is something you should not have to replay with every new person.
Every new school year, every new substitute, every appointment: you have to start all over again. myHandiQR puts an end to that. You write it once. You will no longer start from scratch at every meeting.