Workplace Communication

After being diagnosed with any illness, especially a serious one such as cancer, other areas of your life are unfortunately affected as well. When your health does affect your employment, the last thing you expect is to be confronted with harassment or the threat of losing your job, income and health benefits. Despite significant gains in cancer survival rates and the passage of the ADA, people with cancer still experience barriers to equal job opportunities. One reason individuals with cancer face discrimination at work is their supervisors' and co-workers' misperceptions about their ability to work during and after cancer treatment. Even when the prognosis is excellent, some employers expect that a person diagnosed with cancer will have long absences from work or not be able to focus on duties.

Keep a detailed journal of all incidents including the date, time and what was said and by who as well as when you sought assistance from managers to resolve the matter. Ask for a meeting with our manager, human resources or union depending on you company set up. Come to the meeting organized with detailed facts and your concerns. If you have suggestions offer them as well. Under the ADA, it prohibits harassment based on disability just as other federal laws prohibit harassment based on race, sex, color, national origin, religion, or age. Harassment is actionable under the ADA when a person is subjected to offensive conduct that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile or abusive work environment. Employees who believe that they have been harassed because of cancer may file a charge with the EEOC if you still find your personalized meetings are not resolved to your satisfaction. Keep in mind that the charge must be filed by mail or in person with the local EEOC office within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation.

Patient Advocate Foundation's publication "First My Illness, Now Job Discrimination" is a good resource as well. After being diagnosed with any illness, especially a serious one such as cancer, other areas of your life are unfortunately affected as well. When your health does affect your employment, the last thing you expect is to be confronted with harassment or the threat of losing your job, income and health benefits. Despite significant gains in cancer survival rates and the passage of the ADA, people with cancer still experience barriers to equal job opportunities. One reason individuals with cancer face discrimination at work is their supervisors' and co-workers' misperceptions about their ability to work during and after cancer treatment. Even when the prognosis is excellent, some employers expect that a person diagnosed with cancer will have long absences from work or not be able to focus on duties.

Keep a detailed journal of all incidents including the date, time and what was said and by who as well as when you sought assistance from managers to resolve the matter. Ask for a meeting with our manager, human resources or union depending on you company set up. Come to the meeting organized with detailed facts and your concerns. If you have suggestions offer them as well. Under the ADA, it prohibits harassment based on disability just as other federal laws prohibit harassment based on race, sex, color, national origin, religion, or age. Harassment is actionable under the ADA when a person is subjected to offensive conduct that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile or abusive work environment. Employees who believe that they have been harassed because of cancer may file a charge with the EEOC if you still find your personalized meetings are not resolved to your satisfaction. Keep in mind that the charge must be filed by mail or in person with the local EEOC office within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation.

Patient Advocate Foundation's publication "First My Illness, Now Job Discrimination" is a good resource as well.

If you have worked at your new employer long enough to accumulate leave time I would utilize vacation, sick or personal days for a scheduled doctor appointment. If you find that you need more then one day or your request are frequent you should discuss with your human resources department your needs to see if accomidations are offered. Maybe you could seek a later afternoon appointment and flex. If you have been employed for at least 12 months and worked enough hours you could be eligible for Family Medical Leave assuming your employer employees the required number of employees (www.dol.gov). If you have worked at your new employer long enough to accumulate leave time I would utilize vacation, sick or personal days for a scheduled doctor appointment. If you find that you need more then one day or your request are frequent you should discuss with your human resources department your needs to see if accomidations are offered. Maybe you could seek a later afternoon appointment and flex. If you have been employed for at least 12 months and worked enough hours you could be eligible for Family Medical Leave assuming your employer employees the required number of employees (www.dol.gov).

Hi there,

It would help to know a little bit more about the particulars of your workplace like was it close knit before you were diagnosed and so this treatment is different from how you related to them before, are the people you work with people you consider friends in the larger frame of your life, are these people who have either never been touched by cancer or been touched by cancer before, etc. In general, your options seem to me to be:

1) Try and sit down with your co-workers and prepare them for what’s coming up so they don’t start guessing the worst. Then focus the conversation on how you plan to cope and get work done, to alleviate any worries. Often, people will take their cues from you on how to handle the situation and if you seem to have it under control; your colleagues will react accordingly. This sit down might help you understand why they are treating you differently than before your cancer and make it easier to move forward with them. We have a bit of co-worker content on the site here: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/coworkers and this section is growing.

2) You could speak to your supervisor or HR about the situation with your co-workers and see if they have any thoughts on ways to improve the environment for you. Perhaps if it came from them it would be easier, of course the opposite is also possible.

3) You might also want to think about what it is you need from your co-workers and if it is possible to get it elsewhere and just have work be work, again this very much depends on answers to my earlier questions.

I know none of this is an exact solution, unfortunately there isn't a perfect answer for human nature. The best you can do is see if you can figure out what is causing their behavior and then decide if you have the energy/desire to work to alleviate the cause. Of course, if you feel there is something deeper going on and it verges on some sort of legal infringement then you might want to contact the Cancer Legal Resource Center to discuss your options (1-866-THE-CLRC).

Good luck!

Best,
Rebecca

Rebecca V Nellis
Director of Programs
Cancer and Careers Hi there,

It would help to know a little bit more about the particulars of your workplace like was it close knit before you were diagnosed and so this treatment is different from how you related to them before, are the people you work with people you consider friends in the larger frame of your life, are these people who have either never been touched by cancer or been touched by cancer before, etc. In general, your options seem to me to be:

1) Try and sit down with your co-workers and prepare them for what’s coming up so they don’t start guessing the worst. Then focus the conversation on how you plan to cope and get work done, to alleviate any worries. Often, people will take their cues from you on how to handle the situation and if you seem to have it under control; your colleagues will react accordingly. This sit down might help you understand why they are treating you differently than before your cancer and make it easier to move forward with them. We have a bit of co-worker content on the site here: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/coworkers and this section is growing.

2) You could speak to your supervisor or HR about the situation with your co-workers and see if they have any thoughts on ways to improve the environment for you. Perhaps if it came from them it would be easier, of course the opposite is also possible.

3) You might also want to think about what it is you need from your co-workers and if it is possible to get it elsewhere and just have work be work, again this very much depends on answers to my earlier questions.

I know none of this is an exact solution, unfortunately there isn't a perfect answer for human nature. The best you can do is see if you can figure out what is causing their behavior and then decide if you have the energy/desire to work to alleviate the cause. Of course, if you feel there is something deeper going on and it verges on some sort of legal infringement then you might want to contact the Cancer Legal Resource Center to discuss your options (1-866-THE-CLRC).

Good luck!

Best,
Rebecca

Rebecca V Nellis
Director of Programs
Cancer and Careers