Can you find a new job with bad health?

by 28 Comments

“Can you tell me how I should look for a new job when I’ve  been told that I have to leave my job because of my bad health?”  

I’d say that’s a tough one, wouldn’t you?  Esther is angry, feels totally alone and is really scared.  Seems understandable to me.

As it turns out,  Esther (not her real name and all facts have been changed to protect the ‘innocent’) wasn’t told that it was   “bad health” that led to her dismissal.   When I suggested that she think about what was actually said, she realized that nothing was said or written about her debilitating chronic disease in her dismissal meeting.  In fact, her supervisor wrote that her work was very good and she got high marks for performance.

So what did they communicate?  She is not sufficiently reliable  for this position because:

  1. She frequently leaves the office for unpredictable amounts of time  to go to unexpected medical appointments that always take longer than she predicts.
  2. The frequent unexpected sick days are disruptive.
  3. Her doctor’s recent stipulation that she can only work 8 hour days, rather than the necessary 12 -14 hour days,  makes it impossible for her to perform at the high level required.

Esther works for a large consulting firm that’s  known to ‘eat their young’.  She’d considered and rejected demanding ADA accommodations.    She’s afraid that if she does, they’ll  relocate her within the firm to a job  far below her talents, or that she’d be marginalized completely if she stays in her current job. Worst of all,  based on what she’s seen happen to others, she’d burn her bridges  and won’t get the good recommendations she needs.

Esther, diagnosed two years ago with a rare blood disorder  (3 years after starting at this firm), has a combined social work and law degree with hefty loans left to repay.  She has two months left to find a new job.  At that point, she’ll be unemployed and without a pay check.  So far, she hasn’t found anything.

This isn’t an unusual story in my world.  In Esther’s favor is her skill set, her talents and degrees.   She’s a valuable commodity and should be able to get a job with more reasonable hours, even in a difficult job market.  Also in her favor is that she’s young (29), unmarried and can relocate if necessary to find the right job.

What’s not in her favor?  Her natural expectation that a double degree from a top university should entitle her to work at a ‘top’ job.  Her belief  is deeply embedded.   She had also assumed that she’d get a good job with good pay that would allow her to easily pay off her hefty  school loans.  And, that was all happening, as planned.

Until disease  “destroyed her choices and her life  ”  (her words).

Esther’s  biggest challenge is in  re-setting her expectations.  This is hard, I know, having spent a life time doing this.  But that’s true for all of us who live with anything that is:

  • Unpredictable (you never know when it will get worse or better),
  • Debilitating (gets in our way of doing things) and,
  • Chronic (it might get better but it will never go away completely and for sure).

Esther has to find a new job, a new career – something different.  But before she can do this, she has to accept what her life is now so she can develop the resilience to bend with the punches and live the life that she wants for herself.

I’m not saying this is easy.  Not even close.  Is it possible?  I think it is. Do you have any better ideas?

 

 

About Rosalind Joffe

Comments

  1. Ellen says

    Chronic disease require total flexibility in the way you think which is very hard when you have dreams and financial demands. Until I learned to think about today and what I could do now all I did was get depressed. I suggest to people trying to deal with what they can’t do to stop and think what what can I do today. I can get a job, I can work and do my best to stabalize my health because the stress of finding work is certainly going to make most of us sicker. Than start looking for the next step. Only one step at a time.
    My mantra is that I never make a bad decision. It is always the best I can do at the moment. As soon as I know it wasn’t the right decision I start trying to fix it.

  3. Chris says

    Sounds like a blessing in disguise to me! Any job that demands 12-14 hour days and “eats their young” seems like it would cause chronic stress and illness in even the strongest people!

  4. Rosalind says

    Funny you should say that. That’s what ‘people’ keep telling her and she doesn’t disagree. BUT she’d have liked it to be her choice to leave. And she knows too many people lose jobs and it’s not their choice. But the struggle for her and for many is when you believe you lost this ‘choice’, this option, due to something beyond your control, bad health.

  5. Chris says

    Ahh, good point. True, it does feel better when it is your own decision to leave something than to be forced out or removed in such a manner. Having the option to make the choice is important.

  6. Mary McKennell says

    I am in much the same situation. I cannot apply for any job where they are going to be checking references from my previous employer. I was terminated for “medical inability to do my job”. I am trying to start my own business in case management. However, as you know Rosalind it takes time to build your own business that will generate income. I wish now that I had fought longer through legal channels to retain my job a few more months so that that I could have found a way to leave with my health benefits intact.

  7. RoseMarie says

    I understand how Esther feels. I’m in a similar boat as she, except I’ve been w/o a paycheck for over 7 months. I’ve gotten to the point that I BEG the Lord to heal my body so I CAN work like a “normal” person, or take me Home. I can’t even ATTEMPT to “get well” b/c w/o income or insurance I can’t go to the doctor or get most prescriptions filled. I’ve applied to jobs both w/in & w/out my field, Nursing, w/ only a couple of replies, neither of which hired me. I’ve held on the end of my rope until it has worn away. I don’t know what else TO DO!

  8. Rosalind says

    Hi Mary – Are you sure that you can’t apply for a job even with that reason for termination? Are there ways you can ‘spin’ this, make it work more to your advantage? Yes starting a business takes time and money. I hope you can find a way to make THIS work for you! Rosalind

  9. Rosalind says

    Dear RoseMarie — This sounds tough. I’m so sorry to hear that you can’t get the health help you need to get better. I hope that things turn around for you. Rosalind

  10. Mary says

    reply to RoseMarie-depending on what state you live in…there is a program for chronic conditions that will provide insurance because it was pre-existing. Try Googling it. In California there is such a program.

    Reply to Rosalind-my health has been affected so extremely by the simultaneous stress of job loss and divorce that I do not have the stamina to work full time. Praying for my Federal disability to come thru. I will NEVER work in a beaureacratic system again-it is too much demand on my body and mind.

  11. Carla says

    I just came upon this blog, thank you for writing it. I am 30 now and I have had ulcerative colitis for 20 years so in a way it was easier for me than for Esther. I did not have to step back and change my entire outlook on life as an adult, I got to change it as a kid. Still, illness does play a huge part in determining all my life and career decisions. I needed a career that would be stable, give me health insurance, and would facilitate learning more about my health. I decided to be a pharmacist. Who knows what career I would have chosen if I hadn’t become so ill as a child? Maybe I would have tried to be a freelance writer.

    It took me about 15 years of dealing with many intolerant people and few sympathetic people until I really got comfortable talking about myself and chronic illness. Now I can talk about it with anybody anywhere and it feels like my job to teach other people how to be less uncomfortable talking about it. I love this blog so far and will continue to follow it.

  12. Rosalind says

    Mary – Just saw you post here. I understand how ‘situational’ stress aggravates health and in my humble opinion, a toxic environment is just that, as is a divorce. I hope that once things calm down you can find something to do that offers you increased satisfaction.Rosalind

  13. Rosalind says

    So, interesting to hear your thoughts on living with illness since childhood. It’s long been my hunch that it might make this particular life challenge easier if you had to grow accustomed to this from early development. But I’ve also found that it’s not always the case and some become more destabilized by this at a young age, particularly if they lack the right kind of support from family and their own inner resilience. I’m delighted you find this useful and hope you will continue to comment.

  14. Carla says

    Rosalind, that is a very good point. My parents and friends were always very supportive, so I had a counterpoint to the teachers who were mean. And boy some of them were really cruel.

    For a 13 year old girl, having peers who didn’t mind planning with me for bathroom breaks wherever we went was really a gift.

    Two other huge influences on my outlook were a website I came across http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/ and a support group I found in college for students with chronic illnesses.

    In fact, every time and place in my life I have ended up connecting with others who have chronic illnesses whether I plan it or not. One funny way this has happened is when I took exams in college with ADA accommodations, I met others who were also getting accommodations and began talking to them.

  15. Rosalind says

    Another great point. Maybe you’d like to write a guest post on this– and how it helps at work, in particular?

  16. Carla says

    Rosalind, I could try writing a post, though I am pretty new to blogging. What would you want in a post?

  19. Jessica says

    This is a very relevant topic to me right now. In reality, despite having a chronic illness, I feel more than capable of working full time – I do so now. But I’m looking to switch jobs, and am all too aware of the fact that potential employers will Google me and find that I am very active within my disease community. I have wondered off and on if I am inviting discrimination upon myself.

  25. Tam says

    I recently was let go from my job due to downsizing. I have several chonic illnesses and one of them is a blood disorder where I need my blood tested every 2 weeks to 1 month depending on how my body responds to therapy. I found out today I may need to add another in office therapy to my routine for an autoimmune disorder I have had for several years that has not responded to other treatments. I’m in the middle of a job search and I’m sitting here wondering if I mention it in the interview or not? Do I take a job and then say “Oh by the way…I need to go to the doctor this Friday.” Then in a week or two say “I have to go again…” etc. That is going to get old quick and if *I* were the supervisor I sure wouldn’t be pleased with me. So…how do you handle it in a way that doesn’t make you seem a bad choice for the job. Bear in mind the job market is harsh right now, I’ve had half a dozen interviews with no call backs and am competing against recent college grads right now.

  26. Rosalind says

    Hi Tam – This is a tough situation and you seem to see it clearly. This is a horrible job market. I don’t have ‘advice’, not only because I don’t know enough about you or your situation, but also because there is no clear right/wrong. But I can help you figure out the challenges and options and what seems best to you. I offer a special series for just this called Just In Time Coaching in which you work on one specific and clearly identified issue, such as disclosure. Check out my website page, cicoach.com/services.Rosalind

  27. Chris says

    Tam – in my experience it has worked to wait until hired, and then when my first or second doc appt arises I explain that I have a medical condition requiring frequent doctor visits. I explain that it won’t effect my work – I will make up time and won’t miss deadlines. In my experience, after a few weeks works I am able to prove myself through my work, and if a company still has a problem with my doctor visits then its a company I probably don’t want to work for.

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