Dealing with Your Job

You might have thought that telling family and friends was hard. Telling your boss about your health diagnosis is a whole other story. Depending on your diagnosis, you’ll have to talk to your manager or boss about your condition. You may be hesitant to say anything, fearing that you may get fired or reassigned, or you may worry that co-workers and superiors will treat you differently.

First, determine if your boss needs to know about your medical condition. If your treatment is minimally invasive or you won’t need to take time off, consider keeping it to yourself. However, if your diagnosis is more serious, requiring time away from work to go to appointments or time off to recover, tell your employer early on so he or she can provide reasonable accommodation for you and your workload. In the United States, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives full-time employees up to 12 weeks a year of unpaid, job-protected leave with full health coverage from your employer. Explain your situation to your manager or Human Resources representative. Tell them what you’d like to have happen and let them propose what they think is the best solution. Between you and your employer, you should be able to come to some agreement without losing your job.

If you’re self-employed or uninsured, think about how much time you might be able to take off to focus on your health and do what is best for yourself. Consider putting a trusted worker in charge and taking at least a temporary leave of absence.

Don’t be ashamed of your diagnosis. Make sure your employer respects your diagnosis and your treatment.