Page 32 - OOHNA Spring-Summer 2017
P. 32
ReseaRch n Helping employees with fibromyalgia manage their reputations through disclosure dances
with fibromyalgia as hard workers.
a young woman with fibromyal- When co-workers didn’t see fibromyalgia
gia explained that she didn’t want
employers assuming she was less as a legitimate disability, the women were
productive than other healthy, exposed to gossip about whether they
young job applicants. She asserted:
i’m a very hard worker and i’m very deserved their accommodations.
productive…i might not do [the
job] in the same way they would
do it, but that doesn’t mean i’m there’s more than one kind of dis- these interacting dimensions. Par-
not going to get it done…bad closure, too. a declaration of need ticipants combined one or more
health does not equal bad out- for accommodation can be planned dances to suit different needs,
comes and bad work. in advance. according to human at different times, within different
rights law in ontario, it’s not nec-
although family members and relationships at work.
workmates described the women essary to tell a supervisor or even the first dance was one in which
with fibromyalgia as hard workers, human resources staff about the ill- some women exposed themselves
some felt they worked too hard. For ness or the impairments, just that to scrutiny by both divulging their
example, a supervisor who admired the employee needs a job accom- fibromyalgia and revealing their
her employee’s strong work ethic modation. But there’s another kind impairments to supervisors and co-
worried that it might hurt her health: of disclosure: what we called “every- workers. Some wanted to convince
[She has] a number of health day impromptu disclosure danc- co-workers that they truly were dis-
problems and…she works 150 es.” these are times when workers abled because their illness had a
per cent... [she’s] the kind of per - with invisible impairments need to name. others felt they needed to
son you have to push to say, ‘t ake explain, for example, why they can’t remind workmates about their invis-
care of yourself.’…She’s got such do a task now, or why they must go ible, and fluctuating, impairments.
a strong work ethic…if anything, home or come in late. they need Exposing both illness and impair -
she worries me sometimes. to improvise an explanation on the ments had benefits and drawbacks.
For employees with fibromyalgia, spot. We call these “disclosure danc- on one hand, the exposing dance
es” because they happen during the
bolstered empathetic relationships.
pushing through and working hard back-and-forth dance of conversa- on the other hand, it left women
may lead to presenteeism, where tions on the job and are not choreo- open to unwanted advice and unfa-
workers stay on the job when vorable comparisons with people
graphed beforehand.
they’re ill. Presenteeism can wors- We identified three dimen- their co-workers knew who also
en employees’ health, ultimately sions to the disclosure dances that had fibromyalgia. When co-workers
leading to longer-term absence employed women with fibromy- didn’t see fibromyalgia as a legit-
(Munir, Yarker, & Haslam, 2008). algia improvised. Figure 2 shows imate disability, the women were
Managing disclosure dances Figure 2. Impromptu everyday disclosure dances
there’s a lot of advice about
employers’ duty to accommodate
employees with disabilities. How-
ever, from the worker’s point of
view, when the disability is invisible Exposing
(like pain and fatigue) and happens oneself
to everyone once in a while, dis- to scrutiny
closing a need for accommodation
can be risky (oldfield, MacEachen, Revealing
Kirsh, & MacNeill, 2016a). Whether Selectively impairments
the worker even gets the accom- divulging selectively and
modation depends not only on illness partially
disclosing a difference but on
how valuable the employee is to
the employer (Seing, MacEachen,
Ekberg, & Ståhl, 2014).
30 OOHNA JOURNAL n spRiNg/sUmmeR 2017
with fibromyalgia as hard workers.
a young woman with fibromyal- When co-workers didn’t see fibromyalgia
gia explained that she didn’t want
employers assuming she was less as a legitimate disability, the women were
productive than other healthy, exposed to gossip about whether they
young job applicants. She asserted:
i’m a very hard worker and i’m very deserved their accommodations.
productive…i might not do [the
job] in the same way they would
do it, but that doesn’t mean i’m there’s more than one kind of dis- these interacting dimensions. Par-
not going to get it done…bad closure, too. a declaration of need ticipants combined one or more
health does not equal bad out- for accommodation can be planned dances to suit different needs,
comes and bad work. in advance. according to human at different times, within different
rights law in ontario, it’s not nec-
although family members and relationships at work.
workmates described the women essary to tell a supervisor or even the first dance was one in which
with fibromyalgia as hard workers, human resources staff about the ill- some women exposed themselves
some felt they worked too hard. For ness or the impairments, just that to scrutiny by both divulging their
example, a supervisor who admired the employee needs a job accom- fibromyalgia and revealing their
her employee’s strong work ethic modation. But there’s another kind impairments to supervisors and co-
worried that it might hurt her health: of disclosure: what we called “every- workers. Some wanted to convince
[She has] a number of health day impromptu disclosure danc- co-workers that they truly were dis-
problems and…she works 150 es.” these are times when workers abled because their illness had a
per cent... [she’s] the kind of per - with invisible impairments need to name. others felt they needed to
son you have to push to say, ‘t ake explain, for example, why they can’t remind workmates about their invis-
care of yourself.’…She’s got such do a task now, or why they must go ible, and fluctuating, impairments.
a strong work ethic…if anything, home or come in late. they need Exposing both illness and impair -
she worries me sometimes. to improvise an explanation on the ments had benefits and drawbacks.
For employees with fibromyalgia, spot. We call these “disclosure danc- on one hand, the exposing dance
es” because they happen during the
bolstered empathetic relationships.
pushing through and working hard back-and-forth dance of conversa- on the other hand, it left women
may lead to presenteeism, where tions on the job and are not choreo- open to unwanted advice and unfa-
workers stay on the job when vorable comparisons with people
graphed beforehand.
they’re ill. Presenteeism can wors- We identified three dimen- their co-workers knew who also
en employees’ health, ultimately sions to the disclosure dances that had fibromyalgia. When co-workers
leading to longer-term absence employed women with fibromy- didn’t see fibromyalgia as a legit-
(Munir, Yarker, & Haslam, 2008). algia improvised. Figure 2 shows imate disability, the women were
Managing disclosure dances Figure 2. Impromptu everyday disclosure dances
there’s a lot of advice about
employers’ duty to accommodate
employees with disabilities. How-
ever, from the worker’s point of
view, when the disability is invisible Exposing
(like pain and fatigue) and happens oneself
to everyone once in a while, dis- to scrutiny
closing a need for accommodation
can be risky (oldfield, MacEachen, Revealing
Kirsh, & MacNeill, 2016a). Whether Selectively impairments
the worker even gets the accom- divulging selectively and
modation depends not only on illness partially
disclosing a difference but on
how valuable the employee is to
the employer (Seing, MacEachen,
Ekberg, & Ståhl, 2014).
30 OOHNA JOURNAL n spRiNg/sUmmeR 2017
