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Charlie Duff

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Editor, HRzone.co.uk

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Coping with cancer at work

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The HR department of a large employer will see more new cancer diagnoses in a year than a GP. To address this, Macmillan has launched a pilot scheme with Nationwide and Ford to provide information and evidence on current practices and issues within the workplace.


Dealing with cancer is hard not only for the person diagnosed but those around them including friends and colleagues. The pilot scheme running at Ford and Nationwide will test the delivery and impact of the materials that have been produced over nine months, with a view to launching them to businesses and organisations across the UK from summer 2010. In the meantime, Macmillan offers the following advice for coping with a cancer diagnosis in your organisation.

Work is a big and important aspect of every working person’s life and many people diagnosed with cancer want to continue to work after, or even through their treatment. More than 750,000 people of working age are currently living with a cancer diagnosis. Although a medical condition such as cancer does not have to be disclosed to an employer, the impact on working life may mean an employee feels the need to confide in you. The support you offer at this time can make all the difference to someone dealing with a very difficult situation.

There are obvious benefits to supporting employees to remain in work and helping them back to work when they return from treatment:
• reducing replacement, recruitment and induction costs, plus the associated management time
• retaining knowledge and experience
• helping managers support their teams more effectively
• building trust and loyalty with employees
• enhancing your reputation as a good employer.
 
However there are other situations related to cancer where your employees may need your help. If an employee’s child or partner is diagnosed with cancer they will most likely take on the unexpected increased responsibility of becoming a carer. Caring responsibilities may cause a problem with absences. Employees have the right to take a ‘reasonable’ amount of unpaid time off work in order to deal with particular situations affecting their dependants.
 
If your employee wants to talk
Communication is a very individual matter and you will need to judge the appropriate response for a given situation.

Try to:
• Choose a private place to talk and make sure you won’t be interrupted
• Be prepared for the meeting to overrun. Let your employee set the pace
• Show you are listening. Encourage conversation by nodding or with verbal cues like ‘I see’ or ‘what happened next?’
• Show it’s okay to be upset by remaining calm yourself, and allowing your employee time to recover if emotions spill over
• Show empathy with phrases like, ‘you sound very upset’
• Respond to humour (but don’t initiate it). If your employee tells a joke, it’s a legitimate coping mechanism
• Feel able to adjourn the meeting if your employee becomes too distressed to continue.
 
Try not to:
• Be afraid of silence. It’s ok if the conversation goes quiet for a bit
• Be too quick to offer advice – although sometimes people do not know what or how to ask
• Use clichés like ‘things could be worse’ or ‘things will work out’
• Discount your employee’s feelings
• Share stories about other people you know who have cancer. This takes the focus away from your employee.

Telling colleagues
Agree a communication plan with your employee early on, including what you will, and will not mention to others.
They may not wish to tell others they are affected by cancer. This must be your employee’s decision. However, colleagues may be more understanding about absences, changes in work arrangements and new assignments if they know what is happening.
If your employee agrees that others should know, ask them:
• if they want to break the news themselves
• if someone else should do it, and whether they want to be present
• how the news should be communicated, for example one-to-one, or in a meeting
• how much information should be shared and what should remain confidential.

There are several aspects of cancer and its treatment which employees and managers will need to be made aware of. The emotional aspect of waiting for test results can diagnosis can be extremely stressful, and confidentiality may be very important at this stage. Diagnosis itself can lead to an emotional rollercoaster which may mean you need to monitor the employee carefully and support them, sometimes at short notice.
There are also physical symptoms of treatment which employees may need to be aware of, and practical adjustments may need to be made: breaks to help with fatigue, for example, or the ability to work from home may become important. Some stages of treatment may mean the employee cannot work for some time and it is essential to have a comprehensive back to work programme when they return.

Your employee will appreciate it if you can explain the options for leave, your organisation’s policies and their rights under current legislation at the beginning and has a clear view of how they will deal with the various stages of treatment and any problems which may occur.

Unfortunately, although many people now survive cancer treatment, you may be in a position where your employee or their loved one dies. If your employee is a carer, they will need time to grieve and see to the needs of their family.
As an employer you will be responsible for practical steps, such as informing colleagues, clients, customers and suppliers. Some people at work will not want to talk about their feelings but it helps if you can provide an appropriate opportunity. There should be just one point of contact between the employer and the family. Prompt action should be taken to settle financial  and property matters. Even if the team has known that a colleague is terminally ill, it can be extremely difficult to come to terms with a death. People will react differently and some team members will need your support, personal as well as professional.

A pilot scheme is currently in force to provide guidance to people affected by cancer in the workplace, which includes cancer patients, line managers, HR professionals and carers.
 
The scheme is being launched with Nationwide and Ford who have worked with Macmillan on an expert panel to provide information and evidence on current practices and issues within the workplace. The pilot will run with these partners across their organisations for nine months to test the delivery and impact of the materials that have been produced, with a view to launching them to businesses and organisations across the UK from summer 2010.

Knowlege is power and armed with the right tools , compassion and sensitivity HR can support employees through the hardest times of their lives.


There is detailed information and guidance available in the
full report from Macmillian and you can find more on their Working Through Cancer section of their website.
Macmillian also organise the world’s biggest coffee morning to raise awareness, funds and encourage employee cohesion and engagement. To get your workplace involved next year
click here.
 

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Charlie Duff

Editor, HRzone.co.uk

Read more from Charlie Duff
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