Archive for the 'BOOK - Women Work and Autoimmune Disease' Category

I’ve noticed a trend.  Over the past few years, the number of  inquiries that I get from people looking for help with their career has increased.  But until recently the mix was pretty equal between the currently employed and unemployed.
Over the past year,  the requests  I get are overwhelmingly from the unemployed. I’m wondering:  what’s [...]

 

Do you live with debilitating chronic illness that has led to significant life changes?  If you’re nodding “yes”,  most likely you’ve felt a strong sense loss.
But have you  experienced grief?  I thought about the importance of grieving after reading two articles recently.
The first was a news article about James Levine, the  Metropolitan Opera and Boston [...]

 

Since hanging my shingle as a “chronic illness career coach”, the question I get asked most often is:   “Should I disclose my illness when interviewing for a job?”
Naturally, as a coach,  I have more questions than answers.  But there is one guideline I’ve found is worth following:
If  symptoms get in the  way of doing [...]

 

A reporter was interviewing me about chronic illness and working.  She was very surprised when I said, “The single most important factor that helps a chronically illl person continue to work is to work in a flexible environment.”
She asked me what “evidence” I have to support this.   (Have you noticed how popular that word [...]

 

Living  with chronic illness isn’t easy, under the best of circumstances.
And working can seem like it makes it tougher.
But the alternative is usually worse.

It was a dear friend’s 60th birthday party.  And, once again, my body was in revolt. I was feverish, tired,  nauseous –  with  numb feet and awful balance  (multiple sclerosis [...]

 

Here’s a question I get frequently but you wouldn’t have heard 20 or even 10 years ago:  Is self employment the best option for people living with chronic illness?
It seems that most employed people dream of working for themselves.  It certainly sounds  freeing and creative, doesn’t it? No one makes a more compelling case for [...]

 

Last week,  I spoke at a conference called, “Impairment Without Disability” at the Mayo Clinic. It was targeted to help physicians and supervisors  understand what they can do to help people with impairments stay at work (SAW) or return to work (RTW).
In the world of Occupational Medicine — (the field is actually called the Association [...]

 

Take a minute to ask someone, anyone:  “Do you know what the Americans with Disabilities Act is?”   Most likely you’ll hear Yes.
Now ask,  “What does the ADA do?” Maybe you’ll hear that  it protects people with disabilities from discrimination.  Funny how many people, with and without disabilities, know about this Act but don’t really [...]

 

Are you  living with a chronic illness and under 40?
If you’re saying, YES, regardless of how debilitating or not your symptoms are, now it the time to take stock of your  future in the workplace. Don’t wait until your hand is forced and you have no choice.

I know  because that’s what I did.  At age [...]

 

Check out the very useful information in The New York Times, Patient Money column, Protecting Your Job When You Live with Chronic Illness by Lesley Alderman.
And, yes, there are several quotes from me.
On reading this, a client emailed to let me know that she’s  worried that now that I’m famous, I wouldn’t have time for [...]