The Work & Cancer blog - advice for employers and HR professionals

  • Why are men less open about their health issues and how can employers better support male employees affected by cancer?

    FormerMember
    FormerMember

    One major issue that has been raised with us is recently is how to get men to be more open about health issues and cancer specifically so that HR professionals and line managers can provide them with the support that they need. 

    This problem is not specific to cancer or to the UK.  Research seems to indicate that there are two main reasons why men don’t ask for support, which would apply both to men with cancer and men…

  • What is ‘Chemo brain’ – and how can you support an employee who is affected by it?

    FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Chemo brain refers to the cognitive changes that people with cancer may experience before, during and after cancer treatment. These changes may include having trouble with mental tasks related to attention span, thinking, and short-term memory. Many people describe this as a mental fog. The condition is common in cancer patients and survivors, and sometimes it continues for quite a while after treatment.

    Chemo brain is…

  • How can I embed a workplace policy on managing people with cancer and other long term conditions in my organisation?

    FormerMember
    FormerMember

    This is a question to which there is no quick fix as it’s really about changing organisational attitudes and behaviour.  Support from the top makes a big difference, and too often it is the case that this only really happens when those people have been affected personally. I think there are three major areas where HR can contribute a great deal to effecting change:

     1.       Making the case to the top team, appealing to…

  • Working while caring for someone with cancer: the issues carers face and how employers can help

    FormerMember
    FormerMember

    How often have we in HR stated in our visions, missions, strategies and policies that ‘our people are our greatest asset’ and /or that we aim to be an ‘employer of choice’? But what does this mean in practice – when our employees have to cope with life’s misfortunes and emergencies?

    These days many employers spend time developing family friendly policies, flexible benefits, and health…

  • Managing the performance of people affected by cancer

    FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Here are a couple of case studies to get you thinking: can you spot what the employers should have done differently in the two case studies below?

    Case 1: 

    A friend of mine, relatively new in a senior role, was diagnosed with cancer. Keen to keep on working during her chemo and with no real knowledge of what chemo was like, she committed to going into work for a couple of days a week. This worked well for a couple of cycles…