You Can Get Ahead at Work Despite a Chronic Illness

About 40% of working Americans have a chronic illness. That means they have a health problem that lasts longer than a year, requires medical care and limits what they can do. It might be an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or inflammatory bowel disease… chronic pain, including osteoarthritis or migraines… or a life-threatening illness, such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes.

If you suffer from the pain, fatigue and/or unpredictable symptoms of a chronic illness — and the mental and emotional difficulties that often go with them — you also may find that your work is suffering. Maybe you feel you’ve missed too many deadlines or that you’re “unreliable” and letting your coworkers down. Perhaps you’ve even decided that career advancement and success aren’t possible for you. But chronic illness doesn’t have to stop you from getting ahead in the workplace.

Shrewd ways to help you overcome the career obstacles of chronic illness and thrive in the workplace…

WORK HELPS

Why work if you’re ill? If you’re eligible for disability benefits, wouldn’t not working be better? Not necessarily. Work structures your day and gives you a destination. You’re focused on goals instead of thinking about your ailing body. Being productive also can improve your self-esteem and mood. You can feel like a competent, “normal” human being — even in the face of extreme physical “abnormality.” Studies show that people with chronic illnesses who keep working (in a safe and accommodating environment) experience better long-term health.

HOW TO TALK ABOUT YOUR ILLNESS

If your symptoms do not affect how you do your job, you don’t need to discuss your illness with your boss or coworkers. However, talking about your illness with them can have many advantages. When others know about your illness, you’re more likely to feel comfortable asking for what you need to get your job done — whether it’s more flexible hours or a less demanding schedule of business travel — and getting it. Talking about your illness also sends the message that you’re a forthright employee and creates an atmosphere of trust.

What to do: The rule of thumb is KISS — Keep It Short and Simple. This will minimize overreactions and misunderstandings, and maximize the comfort levels of your supervisor and coworkers. To do this…

Stay calm, matter-of-fact and unemotional when you tell your colleagues about your illness. Example: “I have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, but I am confident that I can continue to do my job.”

Deliver a clear message — don’t use complex medical jargon. Describe the illness in concrete ways that others can understand.

Example: “It’s a gastrointestinal disease. Although I’m getting good medical care, it is unlikely to go away completely. One day I might seem fine, but the next day I could feel awful.”

Emphasize your talents and strengths — what you can do, not what you can’t.

Example: “I am able to think strategically, and manage and motivate the people who work for me, as well as make critical decisions for the department.”

Talk face-to-face, rather than via E-mail or a phone call. This will help keep the dialog positive and upbeat and produce the results that you want — understanding, collegiality and support.

Ask for the two or three things that you need most to help you get your job done effectively. They are likely to be…

Backup. If you work on a team, make sure somebody else knows how to do what you do. It’s hard to be successful if there are days when you can’t do your job and there’s no one else to do it. Express appreciation for your teammates’ help, and do what you can to help them in return.

Flexible schedule. You may want to negotiate a flexible schedule that allows you to come in later on some days than others, go to frequent doctor appointments or even work from home on occasion.

Options. Are there meetings that you could get briefed on rather than attend? Can you teleconference rather than travel?

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

To succeed at work with the challenge of a chronic illness, it helps to maintain a positive outlook. To help you do that…

Focus on what you can control. You may not be able to control the course of your illness, but you can control the direction you take and the choices you make regarding the illness in the workplace. View your chronic illness as a challenge to meet, not an obstacle.

Example: An executive assistant who relied on her flawless recall began to develop memory problems due to her chronic illness. Instead of bemoaning the loss, she came up with ways to compensate for it. No longer able to keep names, dates and information in her head, she used the software in her computer to back herself up. She also put sticky notes everywhere to remind her to double-check her work.

Look for the silver lining. Although you may not believe it at first, workplace success in the face of illness can be transforming. Many people with chronic illness find new strength and confidence.

My story: I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis almost 30 years ago. Then, 15 years after that diagnosis, I was hospitalized with a second autoimmune disease, ulcerative colitis. Getting my health under control was a major challenge, and there were few resources to guide me.

Eventually, I reached the point where I could thrive in my work. That gave me the confidence to start my own business as a coach helping others cope with chronic illness in the workplace. I also just finished writing a book for women on this topic. I’m convinced that meeting my health challenges gave me the strength to meet these other challenges.

Read about how others have coped. It is instructive and inspiring to read about how to handle change and challenges. Some of the best books are…

Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness… A Reluctant Memoir by Richard Cohen (HarperCollins), about a television news producer’s struggle with multiple sclerosis.

Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges (Persus).

I’d Rather Be Working: A Step-by-Step Guide to Financial Self-Support for People with Chronic Illness by Gayle Backstrom (Amacom).

The Chronic Illness Workbook: Strategies and Solutions for Taking Back Your Life by Patricia A. Fennell (New Harbinger).