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THE 7 FACTORS THAT AFFECT SUCCESS IN THE WORK PLACE

Over 125 million people live with a chronic illness (CI) and the numbers are increasing. Over the past 15 years, there have been significant advances in the treatment of many chronic illnesses. According to the National Organization on Disability, only 32% of Americans with disabilities, aged 18 to 64, are working but two thirds of those unemployed would rather be working. This is not only a staggering loss to our economy, but also to the lives of individuals who are affected by chronic illnesses.

My Intention: I set out to discover the crucial factors that can make it possible for people with chronic illnesses to function successfully in the workplace.


About the Sample Group:

• 50 people, all reside in the United States

• Currently working: 2

• Taken a disability leave at some time: 6

• Live with more than one CI: 10

• Age range: 22 to 55

• Gender/ethnic breakdown: 34 Females/ 16 Males; 1 African American, 1 Asian American, 28 Caucasian.

• Diseases include: Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Osteo Arthritis, Depression, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Scleroderma, Spinal Thoracic Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromylagia, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Epilepsy, Cancer

• Chronic Conditions include: back/neck pain, spasticity, tremor

• Live with at least one invisible CI: all;

• Live with visible and invisible CI: 3

• Have lived with diagnosis for more than two years: 41

• Have lived with CI since childhood: 2

• Workplaces included: university professor, senior executive, physician, administrative assistant, retail store worker, lawyer, clinical social worker, healthcare worker, software manager, small business owner, financial consultant, and many others.

• Currently employed: 36

• Currently self-employed: 6

• Currently unemployed seeking employment: 8

The Take Away: Specifically, my findings show that regardless of the disease prognosis, disease course or treatment availability, the single most important factor that determines whether a chronically ill person can stay employed is whether that person can manage to get his/her job done.


The 7 Factors that Affect Success in the Workplace:

• Making effective career choices can vary according to your age at diagnosis.

People who are diagnosed with chronic disease/chronic conditions under age 25 are better able to evaluate their strengths and limitations and make better career choices than those over 25. Those between 25- 45 struggle with the discrepancy of their self-perception, as young and healthy, and the symptoms that limit them. It can be very difficult to adjust this self-perception, but when they do, they are better able to make appropriate decisions. Those who develop an illness after age 40 have invested time, energy and resources on one career path. They find it difficult to make changes, based upon health factors, that might require a setback in salary or role to enhance the quality of their work life. But they are more likely to do so, given that health is becoming a common theme among their peer group and they are more focused on quality of life issues.

• Weighing the pros and cons of self-employment.

Those who work for themselves express pleasure in the flexibility of self employment and appreciate not answering to a boss about their illness. On the other hand, the normal risks of self-employment (possible loss of income when you cannot work and higher cost in healthcare benefits) are an even greater drawback when you live with unpredictable and sometimes disabling chronic illness. Furthermore, self employment can often bring some isolation and this can be particularly difficult when your health limits your ability to socialize normally.

• Developing allies in the workplace.

All of the people with whom I spoke have disclosed their CI to someone at work. They all said that this has made difficult situations more manageable. Several report that a senior executive had reached out and supported them when they were not well or needed a temporary change and this gave them the support they needed to continue through tough times. Others described colleagues who routinely pitched in when changes in workload or responsibilities became necessary because of their medical needs. Several noted that that those who had helped them had been touched by CI in their own lives.

• Recognizing that misperceptions can be harmful.

When colleagues have incorrect information about an illness, it creates difficult and distracting communications problems. Relatively unknown diseases, such as Scleroderma or Spinal Thoracic Syndrome, are met with either disbelief or confusion that it is something else. Those who live with a more well known disease, such as Multiple Sclerosis or Diabetes, say that that have had colleagues make incorrect assumptions about what they can or can’t do based upon false information. They find this is a challenge with people whom they barely know as well as close associates.

• Dealing with the anxiety that arises because others your health is unpredictable.

There is always the nagging concern that you could become sick or your symptoms could worsen and you might be unable to fulfill your responsibilities at that time. Regardless of how prepared you are, frustration and disappointment surrounding this is inevitable. This leads to feeling isolated and misunderstood. Many expressed that working in a flexible environment is extremely helpful but that regardless of the external circumstances, there is always a sense of personal disappointment when you can not meet your own expectations.

• Maintaining employment induces a positive state of mind.

Everyone expressed that working is better than not working. Many people described specifically how living with CI has changed their ideas about why work is so important for them. On the other hand, each person expressed concern about their ability to stay employed for as long as they might like , in the capacity they desire.

• Finding a workplace with a supportive “culture.”

Regardless of an individual’s attitude toward chronic illness, all referred to how important it is to feel comfortable taking care of your health needs at work. This is a make or break issue. And, only those who worked in very small work groups or were self-employed, expressed that they were in an environment that truly put an individual health first.


Big Lesson Learned: People who live with chronic illness/conditions face the same workplace challenges that healthy people face and more. Managing illness in the workplace, an environment that is generally unsupportive of an individual’s personal needs, requires one to be highly flexible, a characteristic that is very hard to achieve, especially as we get older. This is one of the greatest challenges that both the individuals and the workplace face in meeting the workplace needs of the chronically ill.


©2004 Rosalind Joffe. All rights reserved. PLEASE SHARE THIS, with attribution, in its original format.