Some of my clients are unemployed and looking for new jobs or even new careers. But many are employees who are deeply frustrated by a supervisor’s attitude about chronic illness. That frustration led to me to develop a “list” to hand out in the seminars I deliver in corporate settings.
I’ve found that “good” managers are looking for insight and ideas for better managing a diverse population. And chronic illness is an issue of diversity! FYI – you might want to share this with your supervisor or colleagues.
1. SHOW YOUR RESPECT
- Promote confidentiality. If an employee has disclosed a chronic illness to you, it’s because you need to know. But this isn’t meant to be a “water cooler” topic. You should decide together who needs to know, what should be said and who will be responsible for the conversations.
- Respect boundaries. Chronic illness does not mean “open season” for unsolicited advice. Set an example for others and model this behavior.
- Clamp gossip. If you become aware that people are gossiping about this (or any!) employee, act before it blows into a storm and condemn the behavior. Such talk only hurts everyone’s performance.
2. GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED
- Myths can lead to trouble. When an employee tells you about a chronic illness, learn the facts. Get enough information to discuss the situation credibly. The web can be a reliable resource but it can also be incorrect so be sure to “vet” your source.
- Don’t assume that you know how to help an employee perform successfully. Good intentions are a starting point but it’s not enough to want to do the right thing. Ask your employee what he/she thinks is necessary to get the job done and then take action to put these steps into place.
- Review company policies together. Review company policy together to ensure common understanding concerning vacation, sick time, disability leave and FMLA requests. Decide jointly how missed time and other related issues will be recorded and followed up.
3. SET PERFORMANCE GOALS
- Encourage realistic goals but don’t lower the bar. People should stretch to achieve goals but they must be achievable. Employees with chronic illness often need reminders to set themselves up for success.
- Create opportunity for flexibility. This is valuable for all employees in the current workforce, regardless of the reason. It is critical for people who live with unpredictable and/or debilitating health.
- Provide feedback. Chronic illness is not a reason to avoid giving an employee feedback about performance. In fact, it’s a necessary tool for success.
This is just a starting place. What would you add or change?
Skip Weisman says
Rosalind,
Great article and tips for a very a challenging issue and difficult topic to discuss around the workplace.
I’ve found that most leaders try to avoid issues like this or deal with it in a very dis-empowering manner that causes tremendous anxiety, and resentment while creating low morale in a working environment. Other workers feel as though someone else is getting preferential treatment and isn’t expected to keep up their performance.
This is a great discussion started and something we should continue to develop.
Your brand is very narrowly focused, which can be a good thing. How prevalent is this issue from your experience?
Keep up the good work,
Skip
Rosalind Joffe says
Skip – Delighted you found this. This is a great discussion – in fact, you’ve inspired me to put a discussion on this on my facebook fan page where I have such discussions (and I’m trying to get my thousands of blog readers to go to 🙂
LINK: http://www.snipurl.com/cicoachfbwelcome
My brand is VERY narrowly focused and people are surprised that almost 45% of our population lives with at least 1 chronic condition (in this case the definition is fairly broad). This issue is WAY TOO prevalent for so many reasons I couldn’t begin to list here. But many of my blog posts refer to it. Let’s keep the conversation going.
Skip Weisman says
interesting! I learned something new today, thank you for that. I think it was Wally Bock’s RT that sent me here, so thank him for connecting us. Isn’t Twitter an amazing tool.
My passion and my business is Helping to Create Champion Leaders and Helping Champion Leaders Create Champion Organizations. I’m sure I will come across issues such as your specialty with the leaders and organzational teams I work with, so I defintely would love to keep in touch and have you as a resource, when those times arise.
Skip