I’m Bethan and I work in the Careers Service at the university. I live with two chronic health conditions and have had both challenging and positive experiences with balancing my health and career.
My past experiences
I worked as a manager in a theme park when I was diagnosed with my disabilities. I found the stressful environment led to my symptoms worsening to a point where I was regularly off sick, and when I was in, my mental abilities were severely reduced, making my work inefficient. I felt physically and mentally awful all the time. My role involved a lot of walking and standing, which my health conditions made painful, along with the ever-changing dynamics of working in an outdoor environment. I would get home from work and collapse, unable to function, going straight to sleep, and do the same the next day.
When I realised it was my work negatively impacting my health, I knew I had to do something about it. After a long time, I worked up the courage to speak to my manager. It turned out they were understanding and compassionate, and wanted to help in any way they could. We came up with some adjustments, including the option to work from home most afternoons, coming into the office to deal with urgent matters in the morning. Then, when I didn’t have anything that required me to be physically present, I would drive home and continue with admin duties for the rest of the day. This really helped me pace my day, while still accommodating the duties I needed to complete. I had often worked over my official hours for no remuneration. I was able to openly discuss this with my manager and adjusted my schedule to stick to my working hours and take time off when I had worked overtime to recover when I had a long day.
Finding the right role for me
I decided in the end that the work was still too stressful, and I no longer enjoyed it, finding it negatively affected my health even with adjustments in place. I took the time to note down what aspects of my work I enjoyed, my career ambitions, and what worked best for my health. I started looking at the types of jobs that fit in with my list of non-negotiables, and figured out a role where I would be sitting most of the day would benefit me. I also wanted something challenging and dynamic to spark my interest, and develop my skills.
At interview, I made sure to ask questions about my non-negotiables, such as the option of hybrid working and what a typical week looked like. This meant that after interview I had a good idea on whether it was the kind of job that would work for me. I was successful in one of my interviews and I made sure to bring up my health conditions prior to employment so adjustments could be put into place in advance of my start date. I plucked up the courage to speak up for myself, which is equally scary today, but I was clear about my boundaries with my employer and together we came up with adjustments where I was able to fulfil my role while also taking care of myself.
It is a delicate balance and it can be difficult to decipher what will or won’t work for you or the employer. I would suggest trialling things to see if they work, and regularly communicating with your manager to move forward and find the best outcome for yourself and the team or company.
You can find advice and guidance on careers with a disability on the Disability and Inclusivity Careers webpage. The Careers 24/7 organisation on BlackBoard has recordings of webinars that may also be useful.
Bethan Bourne, Projects Manager (RED Awards and Thrive Mentoring)