How You Can Support Employees With Chronic Health Conditions In The Workplace

health conditions

Over 60% of Americans are currently living with a chronic pain condition, and many of these people make up part of the workforce in the U.S. Chronic pain conditions can impact people’s lives in many different ways and affect their ability to work and socialize as well lead a normal functioning life.

Despite having a chronic condition, people still need to work; however, reports suggest that having more than one condition of this nature can reduce a person’s employability by around 11-29%, meaning that those who do find themselves in employment will do their utmost to retain their position to avoid having to find a new job that will hire them despite their health status.

As an employer, you have to abide by two pieces of legislation regarding employing people living with disabilities or health conditions; the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as well as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC). This prohibits discrimination against those meeting criteria set out under the legislation and means as an employer. You need to make reasonable accommodations to support them in their working day.

It can be easy to assume that for people with chronic health conditions, this umbrella term can cover ailments such as diabetes, asthma, Fibromyalgia, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and even obesity. They might not perform as needed or won’t be an asset to your company. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Supporting employees with various health conditions to allow them to continue working comfortably means you can benefit from their skills and expertise in your industry.

As an employer, this post looks at how you can support employees living with health conditions to meet goals and expectations without compromising their health.

Listen and Understand

One of the best things you can do is to listen to your employee and understand more about their condition and their life and how their health impacts it. Try not to offer unsolicited advice or provide answers. The reality is they’ll likely know more about the subject than others who might not have first-hand experience (if you do, then this can be helpful for both parties), so trying to offer advice suggestions or topical “cures and treatments” might not go down so well no matter how well-intentioned.

Take the time to ask them questions to understand better and respect their privacy. If they don’t want this, it becomes common knowledge. While some people are happy to share details with their colleagues, others might not be so forthcoming, so respect their privacy and take their lead when offering support.

Be Flexible

While it is understandable that you need to set a schedule and have a working day in place, being flexible over start and finish times and working locations as much as possible within your business can be a massive help. Allowing a later start due to a doctor’s appointment, chronic pain flare-ups, or encouraging work-from-home days can be beneficial. Other options include:

  • Allowing them to take longer breaks.
  • Using PTO to cover illnesses.
  • Not writing up time off due to their condition if it can’t be helped or avoided.

Make Accommodations

You likely need to consult with your employees about what makes their job role easier and what impacts them negatively. From here, you can adjust their working day and environment to reduce extra pressure. It can be investing in a comfortable chair to support back pain, installing low lighting in their office to reduce the risk of migraines or fatigue from bright lights, allowing them to keep food and drink close to take medication, and so on. Whatever they feel would support them and allow them to work easier can speak volumes about how serious you are when helping your employees in the best way possible.

Offer Additional Benefits

People with chronic conditions or health concerns will often experience medical insurance anxiety as they have likely seen the more complex side of accessing funding for medical care. Offering a comprehensive insurance plan for employees and choosing providers who will support your employees and not make their life harder will be invaluable to those who need to use it.

As mentioned above, PTO and paid sick leave can be extremely useful for those struggling with pain flare-ups or needing frequent medical treatments. Being flexible with your sick day policy, you can support employees to take better care of their health, and in some ways, you’ve given them permission to book the appointments or take sick days or mental health days to ensure they can rest up without pushing themselves too hard when they aren’t up to it.

Sort Your Admin

A popular phrase you might have heard is “the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing,” This means that communication has been messed up, and both parties of the same operation aren’t working together. This can be true of management and your admin team. Things might get lost in the process if you aren’t relaying details and information concerning individual employees. Ensure everyone who needs to know the specifics know and policies are put in place to back up what you have offered by way of support and avoid any confusion for time off, later work starts, or requesting additional equipment or services.

Also, ensure that your payroll department is on the ball with correct wages and pay so people aren’t losing out. Those with chronic health conditions can often have more significant bills to pay for prescription medication, travel to appointments, and so on, and their wages being wrong can throw a spanner in the works for them. Make sure you know how to calculate overtime pay and double time for extra hours worked for all employees, and nothing is overlooked regarding holiday requests and days off for medical appointments.

It can be a good idea to arrange training for all management and admin staff to help you learn how to approach best or deal with an employee with a health condition. Offering sensitivity training and improving soft skills to help you ensure a more compassionate response can ensure the same level of service is provided across the board and no one epicness any difference in support. This will ensure everyone is on the same page, and you can guarantee consistency within your team.

Offer A Support Network

Living with a health condition, no matter how severe can be incredibly isolating, and as such, it can negatively impact a person’s mental health. Being able to offer support in even the smallest of ways can mean a lot to someone with no one to talk to outside of work or who understands what they are going through.

Making yourself available for employees to talk to can give them peace of mind. Someone cares and is willing to support them during difficult periods and has their well-being at heart. Outside of this, you can employ mental health support teams to come to your place of work to talk to employees who would appreciate being able to share their worries, whether they have a chronic health condition or not, or offering mental health services to access a therapist as part of your health coverage. Whatever option you choose, helping people feel heard can make all the difference to someone who feels otherwise ignored or lonely thanks to their health.

Offer Health and Wellness Services

Following on from the above point and offering mental health support, offering all employees health and wellness screenings can drastically improve your employee culture and help employees discuss concerns privately and with your complete approval. Some people might not feel like sharing what they are going through, and this is entirely their prerogative. However, it is essential to learn to recognize when someone might be struggling and identify how you can help them.

Health and wellness services can be part of this support. Giving employees access to physical therapy, exercise classes, holistic therapies, counseling, or even wellness retreats can put you in a better position to support employees the right way, whether they divide their health status or not. Once they know they have your support and understanding, they might be more inclined to share details and ask for help to manage their work life.

Conclusion

Employers are legally bound to offer support and reasonable accommodations to those living with health conditions; however, taking this one step further can enable you to provide a deeper level of support to those who need it and encourage all employees to take their health and wellness seriously. From flexible working to approved sick days and a competent admin system to support your employees is the way forward. It stands you head and shoulders above your competition regarding being an employer people want to work for.

 

 

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