21% of UK employees who have, or have had, cancer in the workplace have not been satisfied with the communication from their line manager or employer during a period of ill-health, according to Working To Wellbeing’s Window to the Workplace research.
Furthermore, as Macmillan estimates there are currently 890,000 people of working age living with cancer in the UK, not only are some employees unhappy with the openness of communication with their employer, but 25% in the research also said they did not feel heard or listened to by their line manager during a period of ill health.
Despite this, 82% of line managers do feel it’s important to keep in touch regularly at set “check-in” times with colleagues who have a long-term health condition such as cancer when they are out of work due to ill health.
Dr Julie Denning, managing director, chartered health psychologist at Working To Wellbeing and chair of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association, said: “Earlier diagnoses and developments in treatments mean that cancer survival rates are rising and more people with cancer are heading back into the workplace. But more often than not, there will be times when they need to take time away from work for medical appointments or a period of ill-health.
“Open communication is crucial; employees need to be heard and line managers need to have the skills and the tools in place to both listen and act with confidence.
“Supporting colleagues with cancer in the workplace isn’t ‘just the right thing to do’ it is also a legal obligation. The 2010 Equality Act considers a progressive condition, including cancer, as a disability. Over the last decade, our experience as a back-to-work rehabilitation specialist has found that most people with cancer want and need to be in work.
“Our study found almost half (49%) of UK workers would be likely to stay working with an employer longer-term if they were offered vocational rehabilitation support to help them stay working or return to work when they were ready after a long-term health condition such as cancer.”
