A reader emailed because she’s trying to figure out if and how to tell co-workers about her new chronic disease diagnosis. She wondered if I still offer “Free consultations”. (By the way, check out my newly designed website — with new resources!)
I don’t because it doesn’t offer enough value and since I can’t really “help” in that limited time, you’re unlikely to want more. No one “wins”.
Let’s face it. Disclosure, leaving your job, changing careers, re-designing your job — these are very complicated issues. If you’re thinking about this and want to make smart decisions — our conversations and work together have to go way beyond a simple piece of advice. You can ask your neighbor for that.
So, back to the disclosure issue. I was reading about JFK – and other presidents who didn’t disclose diseases. They worried, for good reason, about how people would respond.
For good reason. It’s a tough thing to talk about. But it can also be a big mistake not to.
Rosalind
Barbara K. says
There was an article in the 11/18 New York Times about a woman’s experience dealing with ovarian cancer in a very supportive workplace — both in terms of company practices and co-worker compassion (and help). Here’s the url:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/jobs/18pre.html?ref=health
Rosalind says
Thanks, Barbara, for the link. I’m also going to post about another study done recently about cancer patients and return to work