Returning to work after ill health can come with its own set of unique challenges. However, there are steps you can take to help you plan for a smooth and sustainable return. Thanks to Jo Yarker, Professor in Occupational Psychology and Managing Partner at Affinity Health at Work, and Iuliana Udangiu, Business Analyst at EDF, for their input into this article.
Take time to reflect first
A good starting point is to reflect on how you left work in the first place. Were you already out of work, or did you leave suddenly or gradually after things had become unsustainable? What did you communicate at the time and how did you feel about how you were treated if relevant. This will help you to understand what went on before and what that means for you now in terms of how you approach or reframe your return journey.
When thinking about how your illness may affect your return to the workplace, consider both the impact on your physical and mental health, and how you are managing both. It’s important to accept and understand that with fluctuating long term conditions, how you feel in terms of readiness to return can change from week to week, and that’s perfectly normal – there often isn’t a simple linear progression with health.
It’s important therefore to think about what you may need to sustain your health over the long term, not just over the first week or month. There’s usually not just one solution that’s going to work on an ongoing basis, so view this as a continuing journey that may need to flex and evolve over time.
Change in identity
A change in identity often comes about after a period of ill health as your priorities may be different. There may need to be a period of coming to terms with your new ways of being and pace. So, if you were able to work very long or intense hours previously or used to view yourself as someone who always goes above and beyond, this may no longer be sustainable. It helps to accept this and be realistic about the type of work boundaries you now need to operate within, in order to maintain health.
For some, it’s perfectly possible to resume or return to your previous career, for others this may present an opportunity to take stock and consider a change of direction to a new role or sector. If so, take some time to reflect on your interests, strengths, transferable skills and new work boundaries to help you explore other opportunities.
While you’re not working, it’s also valuable to make sure that your identity is not completely tied in with your job search and any barriers you may be experiencing. Consider what activities you can participate in which you can talk to that build alternative new skills and bring you joy such as something creative like pottery or photography.
Telling others about your ill health
This will be a very personal and individual decision, and you should only disclose what you feel comfortable to, and in so far as it effects your delivery of the job requirements. Some people will choose to be upfront about this in their covering letter and CV, listing the reason for their career break as being health reasons. Others will wait for the right point in interview, namely when they feel they’ve wowed their interviewers with their skills and experience and the balance is more skewed in their direction to raise relevant aspects and discuss what adjustments if any they might need. Practice talking out loud to friends and family to see what you are comfortable with, and so that you can be prepared for any questions that may come up as a result of your disclosure.
Requesting adjustments
Part of your preparation for your return to work is recognising what your symptoms are and how these might translate to being at work. If you think there are particular areas of the role that you might struggle with because of your health, then be specific about how certain aspects of your health condition might affect those. So, at the right point for you, you might say something like “I know I can confidently deliver on this element, but I might find this element difficult because my health condition means that…”
There are different adjustments that you might want to consider and need to access to sustain your work on an ongoing basis and these may include adjustments around scheduling, cognitive tasks or commuting.
Do spend some time rehearsing what you will disclose and the adjustments you think you might need to boost your confidence in asking for them. Consider practicing your narrative with a trusted friend to sense check how comfortable you felt disclosing them – you don’t want to come away from an interview feeling like you ‘over disclosed’.
Embracing Self Compassion and Support from others
It’s really important to practise self-compassion on your journey back to work and especially so after a period of ill health. Turn kindness onto yourself and speak to yourself as you would do to a friend. Jo talks to “building your own igloo” to stay safe inside and create building blocks of support around yourself. You don’t have to do this on your own! If you’re feeling frustrated or lost, peer groups can be really valuable in helping to combat loneliness, share tips and boost morale. Join our online global Community for valuable peer support – we’ve created a group specifically for returners returning to work after a career break for health reasons. When you do return to work, other support will hopefully come from your line manager, from your organisation in terms of the policies they have in place and other external networks so embrace all of these to help you return sustainably to your fulfilling career.
For more resources for those looking to return to work after a career break for ill health, see our website here
