Chronic Illness in the Workplace: Dynamic Disabilities, Flexible accommodations

As Brianne Benness, founder of No End In Sight, writes in her blog, people with disabilities caused by chronic illnesses often have experiences with disability that are dynamic. Although disability is often portrayed as a fixed, never-changing state, the reality is that many of us have access needs that change daily. 

Chronic illnesses are more widespread than people often realize. With diagnoses including cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and arthritis, the chronic illness community is vast. We have experiences that, in some ways, mirror the experiences of other types of disabilities, but in others come with unique perspectives. 

I have a cluster of environmental chronic illnesses that make me very sensitive to my environment. My experience with disability is different every day, depending on the physical environments I find myself in.

The social model of disability as illustrated by Michael Oliver explains that disability is not an individual problem to be fixed; disability is instead a result of disabling societal barriers. For me, the social model is more than a forward-thinking way of understanding disability — it is also literal. My environment literally disables me! 

The realities of chronic illness is also in the workplace. When assessing an office’s accessibility, employers should not only take physical barriers into account, such as stairs and raised curbs, but also whether the building has a history of toxic lead, asbestos, or water damage, as these can cause significant harm to people with some types of chronic illnesses. I have turned down jobs I was otherwise qualified for because their building made my symptoms flare. 

Offering employees options such as flex-hours is great accommodation. In this system, employees can choose the hours they work, giving space to people with chronic illnesses to cope with flare-ups and other dynamic aspects of their condition. 

One of the biggest gifts a person can give to people with chronic illnesses is acceptance. Acceptance that their disability is dynamic, that just because they can walk one day doesn’t guarantee their ability to walk the next. 

Acceptance that their access needs will likely fluctuate, that they may need support with food prep today and not tomorrow.