How managers can navigate health-related change at work

What are the main dos and don’ts for managers when women raise a health issue at work?

Dr De Ath-Miller: Firstly, acknowledge the disclosure and thank your employee for raising the issue.

Ask your employee to tell you as much about the health issue as they’re comfortable doing, if or how they feel it's impacting their work, and what they need from you. Don’t offer advice. If you do feel like your employee needs additional support, suggest they check in with your workplace Employee Assistance Program (EAP), if available.

The next ‘do’ is about working together. Rather than rushing in and telling your employee what you’re going to do next, work with them on what they need. What adjustments do they need? Do they want to share the information with the team? Treat your employee as the expert here.

Finally, don't make assumptions based on your past experiences. Everyone is different. While your neighbour or another colleague may have taken certain measures while undergoing chemotherapy, for example, your employee may need a different approach entirely.

Listen more than you talk through this process.

For people sharing mental health conditions or ‘non visible’ symptoms like pain, do these require another approach or any other considerations?

Dr De Ath-Miller: In the management of ‘non visible’ conditions, employees often doubt they will be believed. Some conditions also carry the risk of stigma, so employees can be fearful about disclosing a condition due to worries they will appear ‘less capable’, be discriminated against on career advancement, or be ‘seen’ only in terms of their health condition.

It can also be an issue with remote working, even for those with more ‘visible’ symptoms. It’s easy to present as ‘fine’ for a 30-minute Zoom call but that’s harder to achieve over an eight-hour day in-person if things aren’t going well.

It’s good practice to have regular check-ins with an agenda item that addresses the health condition so it can be given visibility, and any arrangements tweaks can be made. However this might not be suitable in all cases, so be sure to be led by the employee's preferences.

How else can managers help employees through a health-related change?

Dr De Ath-Miller: It’s all about creating a mentally healthy workplace. This helps an employee to feel safe in disclosing a health condition and there will be supports in place to help them – and their manager – manage the transition well in a work context.

These types of transitions can take a toll on the mental health and wellbeing of employees. However, when managed well, employers can actually take steps to create a mentally healthy workplace where their people are set up to thrive.

Read more about Transitioning Well’s recent work with National Mental Health Commission on how to create mentally health workplaces and manage health related changes.