Coping with invisible chronic illnesses in the workplace : perspective of employees and employers

Abstract

The key target of this research study was to delve into the subject matter of invisible chronic illnesses and discover how individuals cope with such illnesses in their workplace, Also, to investigate the current situation with regards to employment when it comes to accommodating such individuals in any field of work. By doing so, it was possible to get an idea regarding the general Maltese public and more importantly employers and their awareness on such illnesses. A mixed method research approach was adopted whereby the researcher collected and analysed both quantitative and qualitative data within the same study so to attain the research’s aim. Three structured elite interviews were carried out to explore the organisation’s attitude towards individuals with an invisible chronic illness, the quality and quantity of policies present, and the hurdles encountered in both the employer’s and employee’s perspective. For the quantitative part of the study, an online questionnaire was developed to assess the general public’s awareness, knowledge, and attitude towards invisible chronic illnesses, and collected the participant’s demographic data. The findings of this study revealed an altogether stunted level of policies in place in workplaces, but awareness was not too minimal in both the general public and organisations approached. The issue lies with the actual action plan required to be followed such as implementing the necessary policies so to facilitate the sufferer’s working experience. From such findings, it is clear that negative attitude towards disclosure, poor education and lack of knowledge on such illnesses, insufficiency of accommodating equipment and incentive to tackle such issues were all associated with the interference in the quality of one’s working life. However, apart from these attitudes, it can be concluded as touched upon from the qualitative component of this study, that the lack of policies put into place needs to be addressed in order to ameliorate these individual’s lives. In response to these study findings, I concluded my research by prompting for more education on such matters, and more importantly for empathy and awareness courses to be provided for all employees.