What happens if you’re a world class conductor and health problems prevent you from doing your job? James Levine, conductor of the Boston Symphony and the New York Metropolitan Opera is finding that out. He’s missed opening performances — and an indeterminate number hereafter — for surgery on a herniated disc.
And this isn’t the first time Maestro Levine has missed work due to poor health. In 2006, he was out for 4 months after falling on stage when he was responding to standing ovations (no kidding!) In 2008, he was out for the season due to kidney cancer.
The good news for him, though, is that his jobs, at least for now, are apparently not in jeopardy. Guest conductors have been scheduled to fill in.
Maybe it’s the work I do or the life I’ve led. But when I hear about physical problems and time missed from work, I’m curious.
I was buying a pillow today and the saleswoman was limping. Empathizing as I watched her seem to struggle to get around, I commented that it must be hard to be on her feet all day. She smiled and told me it’s actually a “bad” hip and today was a “good” day. She’s got rheumatoid arthritis and her hip has been a problem for several years.
Explaining that the doctor says she needs a hip replacement, she asked, “But who can take the time?” Obviously not a sales associate in a national department store chain, I thought.
She said that because of the RA, she ends up taking a few days off at a time every few months. Her manager has a sister with RA and is very understanding. She never takes vacation because she takes all her vacation time as sick time!
But surgery and a minimum of 6 weeks of recovery would be unpaid leave. And she can’t afford that. At least, “Not as long I can still walk”.
I’m guessing that Maestro Levine doesn’t have those worries – at least not to that degree. But, after 3 seasons of problems, does he worry what his employers think? Does he wonder if they question whether he’s a malingerer? That’s a response many of the people I speak with get when they have numerous health problems. (I really doubt it since you don’t get to his level of achievement without being very driven. )
Maybe he’s worrying they want to replace him for a healthier guy. I wouldn’t blame him if he is. But, I doubt this, too. He’s very very good at what he does and I’d guess, worth the wait. I bet they’re just hoping this headache will to resolve itself soon.
But what this must be like for him? To be at the pinnacle of your career only to find that your body misbehaving! It’s got to be tremendously frustrating. It must be jarring after a lifetime of activity and success.
My take away? Illness is never easy to manage when you’re trying to keep living your life. But it is easier to keep your job when you’re at the top or if you’re not easily replaceable.
But no matter how you slice it, it’s always difficult to miss the performance.
Is your employer showing patience with your chronic health problems?
Meghan M. Biro says
Thought-provoking post Rosalind. You share important insights here – thanks for shedding light on the invisible illness factors that many people quietly struggle with when real-life intersects career reality. Agree, it’s definitely less challenging for people who have achieved a certain level of career security. There are no easy answers – the conversation must continue.
Mary says
My employer is patient with my problems, which makes me lucky. But I can see another twist at “being at the top”. I am certainly not at the top, but I am good at what I do, and I would be quite difficult to replace – basically, if I were to leave the job, this would cost my employer at least 6 months delay on two different projects I lead. Thus, taking several sick days here and there, in addition to taking all my vacation time to make sure that I get proper rest, is a better deal for my employer, and my manager is very supportive.
But this just makes me more keenly aware that I need to stay productive. My employer is supportive because, at my current level of productivity, I still get consistently good results on my projects, better than some healthy people around me. But if I had to take an extended delay – e.g. hip replacement which may take up to 6 months recovery – I am not sure that this would be possible.
I do feel a pressure to “keep up” – find ways to make myself productive, to compensate for sick days, to work harder when I am well in order to keep my level of productivity. I am sure it adds to my stress. And yet in many ways it’s a good environment for someone chronically ill, because I am ultimately judged by project outcomes, and not by hours spent at work, and can use my schedule flexibly to work round doctors appointments and not-so-good days that inevitably come with chronic illness.
Rosalind says
You’re fortunate that your employer recognizes your value. The pressure you feel to keep up is “normal”. Everyone worries about that, don’t they? You’re also lucky to be in a place which gives you that flexibility. I only wish that were true of all jobs!
Mary says
I am very fortunate – and I recognize that! But sometimes I have difficulty getting my doctors to recognize it. The flip side of a job predicated on results are “do or die” deadlines. For example, a couple of months ago I had a week when went to work when a “normal” person would have stayed in bed – I was having a major flare, and was forced to take maximal allowable doze of my painkillers and deal with their side-effects as well. But I had a deadline, and if I missed it, we would lose a contract that provided my and one more person’s salary, and the work could not be delegated. Regardless of my manager’s supportiveness, my job would not have survived a disaster of that magnitude. So I had to somehow do it, even if it meant that a 2 days worth of work took me a week, and I had to spend the entire following weekend in bed, collapsed from pain and exhausion. And it was one situation that could not managed better because it depended on multiple people doing their tasks first, so it wasn’t something that I could manage by clever scheduling.
My take is, even with periodic stressful times like this, the fact that my employer values me overweighs the stressful aspects of the job. But I get a lot of feedback from doctors who suggest that a more “steady” job would make me better. Hearing your story of a chronically ill saleslady, and similar stories from other chronically ill people I met, just reinforces my belief that there is no “perfect” job, and staying on the top (even if it’s not the “absolute” top), if you can manage it, is not a bad idea for a chronically ill person, despite the stress involved getting there.
Rosalind says
Sure, a more steady job would mean that you don’t have the recovery period. BUT – does it exist and for you? And, you do recover and you recognize that, even if the doctors don’t. Most doctors think they’re doing their patients a favor saying they should find different work. But what’s the reality? Stress comes in many forms and a toxic work environment, low salary and boredom can be stressful and create pain and/or fatigue, too! Too bad your dr’s don’t realize that.
Robin Montesano says
Maestro,
The magic words are “replaceable”