Getting to work with a chronic condition: how do you support as a manager?
About 60 percent of the Dutch working population has a chronic condition. These include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, lung disease, MS, rheumatism, physical complaints or mental illness. Many of them are able to perform their jobs without any problems. Sometimes complaints require adjustments - especially if the condition worsens or if the work-life balance comes under pressure.
Difference in complaints
As a manager, you don't have to be a doctor, but it is helpful to know what your employee needs to remain sustainably employable. A worn-out knee need not bother an employee in an office job very much. For others, maintaining a good work-life balance is a must to keep up the work. Symptoms can also worsen over the years, making the work that was possible for a long time too difficult for the employee. In many cases agreements can be made about the conditions under which the work can be performed. For example, an irritable employee may benefit from a quiet workplace, while an employee who sleeps poorly due to a condition may benefit from flexible working hours.
How do you address it as an employer?
Sometimes, as an employer, you don't know how to handle this. Perhaps because your employee does not dare to be open about his or her limitations, while it is clearly a struggle for your employee to stay at work. It can also happen that you find it very difficult to assess what your employee can still do without asking too much of yourself.
Employ a Sustainable Employability Study (DIO)
If so, consider a Sustainable Employability Examination (DIO). In this process, an Occupational Assessor from Puls will talk with you and your employee. Together you will identify the bottlenecks and look for practical solutions. The result: clear advice to keep your employee working as well as possible, and for as long as possible.
The right support from Puls
As a manager, make sure you are well prepared. Identify what the challenges of chronic conditions are in the workplace and deploy a Sustainable Employability Assessment where appropriate. Would you like to know what a DIO can do for your organization? Then contact us without obligation.
