I recently had the pleasure of being invited onto Sarah Hamilton-Gill’s HR podcast, Leap Into HR Consulting, where the two of us discussed some of the fundamental shifts that HR professionals should expect to see in the near future.

The first of these shifts is what I call the Workforce Cliff. Flashback to almost a decade ago, when my team and I first examined data that compared the growth rate of jobs in comparison to the growth rate of economically active people. The results we published predicted that at around about now – 2023/4 – there would be more jobs in the UK than people to fill them.

Put simply, not enough babies were being born, so demand would eventually outstrip supply.

Fast forward to the present day and – as predicted – businesses are struggling to fill key roles. This is because as the economy restabilises after the effects of the pandemic, we have been set back on a path that edges us closer and closer to the Workforce Cliff.

The most recent data highlights that the growth rate for jobs is 0.94%, whereas the population growth rate for economically active people is only 0.37%. This is broadly in line with pre-pandemic rates and will create an ever-tightening labour market.

According to the Future of Jobs 2023 Report, companies have identified the availability of talent and a shortage of key skills the as two of the major issues that will negatively impact business performance over the next five years. For example, one recent study has found that only one in ten UK workers possess digital skills – which is an alarming statistic as the integration of AI begins to happen all around us.

One solution for filling these gaps lies in migration – a recent survey found that over half (52%) of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are in favour of opening the UK’s doors to overseas workers to plug vacancies.

However, there are many untapped pools of talent on our own doorsteps that are being completely overlooked. For one thing, 20.8% of the working age UK population are considered economically inactive, and the largest proportion of this group are those aged between 50-64. The pandemic resulted in many midlife workers taking early retirement or being made redundant, and so there is a substantial pool of experienced and skilled workers who companies are not targeting with their attraction strategies.

The same can be said for younger workers too; many young people are now starting their careers later, so employers need to be considering what they can do to make their job offerings more attractive to this group.

Employee benefits that are on offer are a great way of accessing a specific talent pool, as each generation of workers tend to have different wants, and so these benefits packages can be made more unique to specific needs.

For instance, younger workers value work-life balance and mental health support. Midlife workers, on the other hand, value flexibility and the ability to work remotely.

The point is, if employers are being more purposeful with their attraction strategies, they will be able to move away from the Workforce Cliff’s edge. This means considering talent in all corners of the market, and ensuring that their business is an attractive one for a diverse set of people; whether they be older, younger, have an accessibility need, or be in a minority group.

Pair this with an added focus on learning and development (92% of job candidates use L&D opportunities as a deciding factor when considering job offers) and companies will have fewer issues being able to fill their skills gaps.  

If you would like to discuss how OrgShakers can help perfect your talent attraction plan and strengthen your learning and development strategies, please get in touch with me at david@orgshakers.com

David Fairhurst is the Founder of OrgShakers. He is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading HR practitioners and is a respected thought leader, business communicator, and government advisor.

Learning and development (L&D) opportunities are a vital ingredient for employers when it comes to attracting and retaining top talent. Research from the IMC confirms this, with 92% of job candidates using L&D opportunities as a deciding factor when considering job offers, as well as 52% of employees citing that they left a role due to a lack of personal and professional development opportunities.

One skillset that many workers are keen to learn is generative AI skills, with more than 50% of employees stating they were eager to acquire those skills, according to Randstad’s Workmonitor Pulse. However, only one in ten workers were offered any AI training in the last year.

Pair this with Access Partnership’s survey which found that an overwhelming 93% of employers expect to use generative AI in the workplace in five years, and what you begin to see is that employees want to learn to master AI, employers want to implement AI…but there is a significant lack of L&D training opportunities around AI.

In the past year, we have seen generative AI platforms like ChatGPT take the working world by storm – but the narrative surrounding its uses in the workplace have been inconsistent. While some view this technological change as something that will replace certain jobs altogether, others view it as a tool to be collaborated with [AS1] to improve and perfect the human skills that are paired with it.

In order to start getting the most out of AI and offering L&D opportunities that allow for this skill development, employers need to first get a good and clear understanding of what generative AI can do for their specific business and in what areas it should begin to be implemented. While this could be a very effective time-saving tool – freeing up time for employees to focus on more meaningful work – it doesn’t necessarily have to be used just for the sake of using it. Identifying its strengths and weaknesses will allow organizations to create a clear roadmap for navigating generative AI, unlocking its full potential.

But a key part of this journey is offering the appropriate training to employees on how to use these new tools. It can be daunting to attempt to use generative AI without having a proper understanding of it; if employers are able to provide the essential training, suddenly all the myths surrounding AI will begin fading away, along with that initial fear of misusing it. As an example, take a look at this infographic on how best to communicate your requests to ChatGPT in order to get your desired results:

As the tools at our disposal continue to expand, it is important for companies to keep in stride with this burgeoning toolkit and offer L&D opportunities that allow for the development of these new skills that are quickly becoming essential ones.

And it is of the utmost importance that these opportunities are made available to all workers; unconscious bias around age can perpetuate the idea that older workers are less tech-savvy and so will be given less opportunities to grow their technological skillset, but as proven by our recent article, this isn’t the case!

This holiday season, one of the best gifts you can give your team is the gift of nourishing their hunger for opportunities to learn and develop! Those employers who do will have the strongest talent as they venture into the year ahead. If you would like to discuss how we can help provide training and workshops around generative AI in your workplace, please get in touch with me at andy@orgshakers.com

Did you know that from November 14^th, disabled workers stop getting paid for the work they are doing until the new year?

We were shocked too. A new analysis from the Trades Union Congress discovered that disabled people effectively work for free for the last 47 days of the year due to the sizable pay gap between disabled and non-disabled workers. And what’s even more alarming is that this pay gap has actuallygrown over the last decade from 13.2% to 14.6%.

Disabled people make up 17.8% of England’s population – equivalent to 10.4 million people – and so a sizable percentage of these people are going to be of working age and, with the right reasonable adjustments, very willing and capable of working part- and full-time jobs.

But the problem that is making workplaces unattractive to diverse talent is the pay disparity they experience – and sadly, this isn’t just limited to disabled workers.

Employers who are actively taking steps to bridge this gap are the ones who are going to be the most attractive workplaces for diverse talent. It is already a well-known fact that diverse talent is good for business, so this should be a strategy that all companies are integrating.

Not only will diversifying your hires lead to wider innovative opportunities, but tapping into diverse talent pools such as disabled workers will play a huge part in plugging talent shortages and bridging emerging skills gaps.

A recent survey from the BBC of nearly 5000 companies found that 73% of these companies came across hiring difficulties during the July to September quarter of this year. Aside from the pandemic, this is one of the highest figures it has ever been!

So, what are the best way of overcoming these difficulties? Employers need to be targeting these pools of underused talent and hammering down on the pay disparity that groups like disabled workers continue to face. This will see employers bring in the best of talent from all corners of the market, and help strengthen and sustain their business well into the future.

If you would like to discuss how we can help tailor your hiring strategies and work towards closing the disability pay gap, please get in touch with us!

Learning and development (L&D) opportunities are a driving force when it comes to attracting and retaining talent. Research by the IMC found that 92% of job candidates use L&D opportunities as a deciding factor when considering job offers – as well as 52% of employees having left a role due to a lack of personal or professional development opportunities.

So why are there less developmental opportunities for older workers?

The answer is ageism – whether it be direct or subtle, purposeful or unconscious, there are pre-existing notions about someone when they reach a certain age. These notions act as barriers to career growth that need to be challenged and erased in order to unlock all of the potential of such a large proportion of the workforce.

Almost one-third of workers (32%) are now aged 50 or over. And yet, despite there being such a large presence of midlife workers in the UK workforce, 34% of these employees are unsatisfied with the few developmental opportunities available to them. And almost half (48%) say that their age is stopping them from getting a better job.

But what is really stopping them are these unconscious biases rooted in ageism. Managers may assume midlife workers are overqualified for a role, or assume that they aren’t tech-savvy, or that they will be too expensive to hire…

These are just a handful of stereotypes that perpetuate the ideology that midlife workers no longer have an appetite to learn, develop, and grow in their career – when the reality is the opposite! Just under 30% of people who are 55 and over want to improve their skills but are daunted by the idea of asking their employer to help.

And this is just those that already want to improve. If all midlife workers knew that there were learning and development opportunities on offer to them, think about many more would be interested!

Employers who are recognizing these biases and actively working towards erasing them are the ones who are going to be able to reap all the business benefits that age inclusivity has to offer. This starts by weaving this inclusivity into their hiring strategy, as this will give them access to the best and most diverse talent available. And if that isn’t enough, intergenerational teams are proven to be happier, to foster two-way mentoring relationships, and to increase customer satisfaction.

From a business perspective, as well as a social one, shattering the glass ceiling on ageism in the workplace is the smartest move a company can make.

If you would like to discuss how we can help weave age inclusion into your hiring strategy and company culture, please get in touch with us.

Even if you haven’t come across the term ‘dry promotion’, it’s likely you have received one.

A ‘dry promotion’ is essentially when an employee is given extra duties and responsibilities without a raise – hence making it a ‘dry’ promotion as there is no compensation being offered to grease their wheels. This phenomenon is quite a popular one; one survey found that 78% of employees had experienced a dry promotion.

There are many reasons why employees are dry promoted, but the most common ones tend to be that someone is absorbing the responsibilities of an employee that has just left, or they are being given the chance to see if they would be capable of a promotion and this ‘dry promotion’ is a trial run. The problem is, in both of these scenarios it is rarely communicated how long – if ever – this change will be reflected in their compensation.

Dry promotions can be frustrating for employees, and can lead to lower engagement levels, higher levels of dissatisfaction, and increase the likelihood of staff falling into a ‘grumpy staying’ mindset.

From an employer perspective, a dry promotion can be tempting to offer; if you want to potentially promote someone but want to see how they will fare in this position, then offering this interim, unpaid position can seem like a legitimate solution. If you are going to take this course of action, then clear communication is key – ensure that the employee knows exactly how long their interim position is for and at what point the decision will be made to further their promotion or not. At least in this case, the employee has all the information they need to make an informed decision about whether they want to accept this promotional trial.

In cases of delegating responsibilities from a departed employee, the idea is that these additional responsibilities will only be absorbed until a replacement is found. Whilst an entire compensation change may not be a viable option, this doesn’t mean that employers can’t reward these employees in other ways, whether that be through a bonus or through more creative means (for instance, offering them some additional paid leave).

If you have to offer a dry promotion, it can’t be bone dry, otherwise an employer will find itself with employees looking to quench their thirst in other places. Promoting someone can be daunting for an employer, as it is a risky investment, and whilst dry promotions may seem like an insurance tactic, they may end up doing more harm than good.

Instead of dry promoting, there is no harm in breaking down the promotion process so that the employee is still being recognized and rewarded and the employer can ease them in to get a feel if they are ready for the role.

If you would like to discuss how we can help bolster your people strategies and optimize your promotion process, please get in touch with us.

When we hear the word ‘bullying’, we tend to associate this with our school days. However, the sad truth is that more than one in ten people are bullied in their workplace.

Bullying behavior can be extremely damaging, whether this be through mental damage done to the employee suffering, or the knock-on effects this behavior has on the wider business (a toxic culture, lack of cohesion, drop in engagement levels).

However, how leader and HR professionals respond to bullying is so important in managing these ripple effects. Therefore, knowing the signs of this behavior is vital to mitigating the effects that it will have.

But firstly, what is bullying at work? The Workplace Bullying Institute defines bullying as “repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators that takes one or more of the following forms: verbal abuse, offensive conduct/behaviors (including nonverbal) which are threatening, humiliating, or intimidating; or work interference – sabotage – which prevents work from getting done.”

There are two things to note from this; the first is knowing the difference between someone who is generally not nice and someone who is a bully. Bullying is targeted (so towards the same person, or same group of people i.e. women, a certain ethnic group) and repeated, whereas if a manager is found to be mean to anyone and everyone and it isn’t targeted, then this is simply seen as a manager having an attitude problem. The second thing to note is that bullying can look different depending on the context it is happening in, which is why it’s important for leaders to know all the signs and different forms that bullying can take in order to intervene quickly and efficiently.

So, what are the signs?

Overt signs of bullying will look like a person being aggressive through yelling, shouting, or hitting objects. It can be punishing a specific employee undeservingly, belittling or embarrassing someone, or even threatening them with unwarranted punishment and/or termination. Additionally, actively blocking someone’s learning and development opportunities and campaigning against them to remove them from the organization all constitute as openly bullying an employee.

There are also more subtle, covert signs of bullying that leaders have to be aware of too. This can take the shape of shaming/guilting someone, pitting employees against each other, isolating/excluding someone on purpose, ignoring them, and deceiving them to get one’s way.

There is a tendency for bullying to come from managers and higher-ups to their direct reports. I have previously worked with a leader who was consistently angry and frequently yelled, and would lie to HR about the performance of a member of staff to get action taken to remove them from the company. HR, upon investigating, discovered that the leader was purposefully gatekeeping information from the employee that they needed to perform their job, which was yielding these subpar results, as well as scheduling meetings surreptitiously so that the individual would miss out on key exchanges.

In a case like this, or any instance of workplace bullying, HR must handle it as if handling any other employee relations issue – by conducting a thorough internal investigation and taking direct action upon the conclusion of this investigation, whether that be coaching, punishment, or even termination.

But employers can also go one step further, and instead of being reactive to bullying, they can be proactive in preventing it in the first place. This can be done through:

• Developing a training program for middle managers and leadership on appropriate conduct and inclusivity.
• Building processes into the fabric of the business on an organizational design level which interrupt biases and make the recruiting process more inclusive.
• Ensuring that the yearly harassment training is incorporating specific training around how to recognise, respond to and mitigate bullying in the workplace in all its forms.
• Having a thorough investigative process for investigating toxic leaders and/or employees.

Employers who are working towards creating a harmonious and inclusive workplace are the ones that are going to get the best out of their people – after all, happy employees are productive employees!

If you would like to discuss the anti-bullying training and workshops we offer, please get in touch with me at Brittany@orgshakers.com

This month, we have got our hands on a copy of Stephen Frost’s latest book, The Key to Inclusion. With input from authors who are experts in their field of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Stephen has put together and edited this practical guide with strong strategies, examples, and case studies demonstrating how to cultivate and embed an inclusive culture in your workplace.

The book is divided up into four parts which address the key topics surrounding DEI, as well as identifying and examining the drivers of inclusion:

Part One: Unlocking You

In the first part of his book, Stephen takes the reader through the concept of ‘cognitive load’ – which is the amount of information the working memory can hold at one time – and identifies this as a barrier to inclusion. For DEI to succeed in a workplace, leaders must recognize and adapt to their employees’ cognitive load and find ways of reducing it.

He then goes on to outline the formation of a ‘growth mindset’ and highlights how this is a key ingredient of an inclusive company, as well as how leaders can begin to develop cultural intelligence to foster an inclusive working environment.

Part Two: Unlocking Your Team

In the second part, Stephen zooms in on the ideal management practices that leaders can adopt to foster an inclusive environment, and he does this by looking at two key areas: the structure that leaders adopt for their teams and how the fourth industrial revolution – the introduction and assimilation of artificial intelligence and new technologies – influences these structures.

Part Three: Unlocking Your Organization

In the penultimate part, the focus is centred around rethinking strategy so that inclusion can be repositioned into the strategic fabric of the organization. This process is broken down into phases:

• Diversity 101 (foundations) – incorporating the minimum legislative approach to diversity.
• Diversity 2.0 (appearance) – ‘Taking a stand’, which is manifested in corporate messaging.
• Inclusion 3.0 (interior structures) – Practicing diversity throughout all behaviors and layers of the organization.
• Inclusion 4.0 – Overhauling the entire system and not simply incorporating an inclusion element.

The chapter then goes on to examine the key drivers of inclusion and how to interact with each of them, and these are data and measurement, governance, leadership, and system and processes, in addition to strategy from the previous part.

Part Four: Unlocking the Future

In the final part of Stephen’s book, he advises employers how they can look ahead to embed inclusion at the centre of technological, leadership, and problem-solving skills. This begins with finding the best way to measure your inclusion impact, and harnessing this data to create a roadmap for your inclusion initiatives.

He then goes on to contextualize this by industry, including tech, TV and film, and financial services.

The book takes the reader on a journey of inclusion, from understanding it at its foundations to making it a staple part of the foundations of an entire company. By doing so, employers can begin to unlock its power – and this book is the first step to finding that key.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Stephen’s book head over here for the UK and over here for the US.

If you would like to discuss how we can help implement a DEI and inclusion strategy, please get in touch with us.

Stories of ghosts, ghouls, spirits, and paranormal activity are not hard to come by in the modern world. The media is inundated with gothic movies, tv shows, and literature, and for many people a good ghost story gets their spine tingling.

However, while the idea of ghosts may be entertainment for some, for others, the concept of apparitions, hauntings, and possessions are very real. According to a 2019 IPSOS poll, 46% of Americans believe in ghosts (a percentage that has increased by 14% since 2005). That’s almost half of the entire country.

So I pose you this scenario: what do you do, as an HR professional, if someone in the company believes the workplace is haunted?

Belief is a very powerful force; whether you believe in ghosts or not, for someone that does believe in them, you have to accept that as their reality. This means that while their fear may be intangible, the psychological effects that their fear will have on them are very real.

And there are many instances of hauntings causing chaos in the workplace to prove this. In Orlando, a Japanese restaurateur backed out of his lease because they heard that the premises were allegedly haunted by ghosts and apparitions. The landlord even offered to exorcise the building, but they still refused, and this resulted in a messy court case.

In another occurrence at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington D.C., many workers reported instances of seeing a woman’s face in a third-floor window. They would also hear a female voice call out their name, followed by footsteps running down the hall – on one occasion they even found a co-workers visiting child talking to an invisible woman in the third-floor conference room. One worker had to quit his job because of this alleged supernatural torment, as he kept finding the photos from his office walls neatly arranged on the floor every morning.

There was even one case of a law firm’s office building being haunted, which lead them to move to a newer building where the unexplained phenomena (keyboards typing by themselves, files shuffling in cabinets in empty rooms) finally ceased.

Whether these hauntings were truly paranormal or not, the effects of them are undeniably real: legal issues, lowered engagement and productivity, loss of staff, and the costs of relocation. These are all big red flags in the corporate world, and so regardless of what has caused them, HR is responsible for managing them accordingly.

What we’re trying to get at here is that whether they believe it or not, an employer has to take these things seriously in order to manager the very real effects that these beliefs have. In countries that are less westernized, the belief of ghosts and spirits is much more prevalent, and so having to deal with a haunted workplace may be much more commonplace somewhere like China, where they still celebrate their Hungry Ghost Festival to avoid the wrath of ghosts. Similarly in Mexico, they celebrate el Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), where families will welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives.

Belief and superstition can run deep – ever find yourself knocking on wood or crossing your fingers? – and so it is important that these instances are taken seriously and handled expertly so to avoid any of the disruptions that were listed above.

And if that means having to be a Ghostbuster, then grab your overalls.

Networking is more than just a practice, it’s a skill. A skill that many employers tend to foster and encourage in their employees, as it can lead to better cohesion, higher productivity, and more expansion opportunities.

Pre-pandemic, internal networking (which is networking amongst your team members) was a seamless practice, as employees were brushing shoulders, poking heads in doors, and having exchanges by the water-cooler. The focus tended to be around external networking (which is networking outside of the organization).

However, with the mass adoption of remote and hybrid working styles, this has affected the basis of networking as a whole. Employees who were once always around each other in an office are now working from home, and as new employees are onboarded, internal networking has become something that requires a lot more conscious effort. This is particularly noticeable amongst Gen Z workers, with only 23% of them saying that remote work was important to them because they felt that they were missing out on important networking and career development opportunities.

For employers, placing emphasis on how to network in the new age can actually be the deciding factor between attracting a potential new candidate. Ensuring that internal and external networking opportunities are available can make a company a more attractive place to work, but this requires employees to understand what this new networking world looks like and how they can operate in it successfully.

Here’s some new ways of networking that employers can promote to their staff:

• Virtual Coffees – whether you want staff to reach out beyond your immediate network or get to know the wider team, scheduling a virtual coffee catch-up can be a great way of networking in a remote working world. It can be a short, 15-minute discussion with the sole intention of chatting, catching up, and seeing what opportunities are up for grabs. This offers opportunities for direct mentorship, learning, and development.
• Attend Online Talks/Events – as the working world continues to digitalize, it is now easier then ever to sign up for free webinars, talks, and events that are held entirely remotely. These can be a great way of expanding one’s network and discovering new ideas or potential new business partnerships.
• LinkedIn is Your Best Friend – encouraging team members to have a LinkedIn presence not only boosts their personal brand, but it boosts the company’s brand too. Ensure that staff are interacting with social media posts and posting updates of their own in order to appeal to the wider LinkedIn network.

And in terms of how employers can create internal networking opportunities, this is where team building days can be a great tool. If you are a company that operates in a hybrid or remote fashion, making that conscious effort to bring the team together outside of the workplace setting can be a great way to breaking down barriers and encouraging inter-networking.

If you would like to discuss how you create networking opportunities as an attraction and expansion strategy, please get in touch with us.

After the discovery and diagnosis and the treatment and recovery, the day finally came: remission. I partook in my last batch of radiotherapy after recovering from my operations, and then finally came the day that I was declared cancer-free.

Oftentimes this might be misconstrued as being back to the version of me I was before the cancer, but I don’t think that’s the case. Remission is what any cancer patient hopes to hear – it’s a sign that you can press play on your personal and professional life again. But it’s important to remember, especially for employers, that as someone begins to recalibrate back into their normal routine, ‘normalcy’ won’t be instantaneous. In fact, they may never be exactly how they were before, but it’s about offering those adjustments to help them transition back as smoothly as possible.

It will take some time for an employee to get their groove back; a great way of reintroducing someone back into work might be by starting them off on a part-time basis. Staggering their return can help get their body get used to the physical and mental stimulation that working requires. It also helps to set the pace; they are not expected to come back and dive right into the deep end.

And for those that do find themselves wanting to get stuck in, there is no harm in reintroducing responsibility bit by bit, just so that they can also see how they fare. The cancer may be gone, but its after-effects are stubborn and can linger. The returning employee may not be sure how much they are ready to take back on in one go, so in this case just being flexible to that can be a great way of ensuring that their return is as productive as possible for both the employee and the employer.

In addition to this, I have found that being able to talk to people who have gone through a similar experience – whether this be having cancer or having cared for someone with cancer – is always a really helpful way of adapting to life post-cancer. The little nuances of remission become things to bond over, and so employers who are able to signpost staff who have had cancer to support groups – or to other members of staff who have had similar experiences – will be helping them assimilate back into working life.

The OrgShakers team have been on this journey with me from beginning to end, and I have been so fortunate to feel that I was able to be honest and open about my entire cancer journey with them. This firsthand support, paired with their own experiences, has made our team experts when it comes to coaching executives and managers on how to properly and efficiently support team members with cancer at every step of their journey.

Every person’s experience with cancer is going to be unique, so when designing support policies around cancer in the workplace, use these as a guidance that can be flexibly applied on a case-by-case basis. This ensures that the individual’s needs are being met, and that they will be able to return as their best self when the time comes.

If you are an employer who is looking to craft or update their policies on cancer in the workplace, or looking for specialized training and workshops around this topic, then please feel free to reach out to me at therese@orgshakers.com

After discovering, being diagnosed, and then disclosing my cancer to my workplace, then came the big leagues – the start of my treatment. Once I received my results, I was set up with a treatment plan.

For me, I found a clear plan comforting. I liked that I could see the journey ahead, that I knew exactly where I had to be and what I had to be doing at each step of the way. As someone with a corporate background, it felt shockingly similar to having a mission statement and planning out the roadmap of achieving that mission.

Treatment looks different for everybody, depending on the type of cancer you have been diagnosed with and the stage of progression of that cancer. For me, I was going in for lymph node clearances, and then eventually my mastectomy surgery, followed by reconstructive surgery. This had me bedbound in hospital for 10 days, followed by weeks of recovery at home.

As I mentioned in the first part of this piece, communication with your employee is key during this process. Employers should do their best to be in the loop of surgery dates, wellbeing updates, and just general support and attentiveness during this particular stage of the journey. This is the most taxing part; not just physically from the treatments, but it can be mentally exhausting to be unwell. Especially for someone who enjoys busying themselves and was spurred on by the idea of working – such as myself! Being forced to simply sit and heal can be tricky for someone itching to get back to their normal routine of work and life.

In this sense, having that accessible line of communication open will help to keep the employee feeling involved as they undergo this treatment. If they are like me, they will still want to know what’s going on and feel up to date on working matters; however, if the employee feels they just need to shut off from that until their recovery is complete, then this should also be respected.

It’s all about finding the perfect balance, and the only way of finding that is by asking what they need. Whether they want to jump back in the moment they are in recovery mode or whether they would like to be back to full health again before they begin their re-assimilation back into working life.

And another thing that employers need to be considerate of is being flexible to those caring for cancer patients who are in recovery. In the immediate weeks after the operations, I found that I needed help doing the most basic of things – hanging up washing, cooking, taking a shower. During this period, the person caring for you is going to need to be afforded the same flexibility and understanding as the person in recovery, and so as an employer it is key to ensure that these reasonable adjustments can be made for all involved.

In the final part of this series, I am going to be exploring the remission and return to work stage, and what employers should be doing to make this process as smooth and as effective as possible.

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss the coaching and workshops we offer around cancer support in the workplace, please get in touch with me at therese@orgshakers.com

In one way or another, we’re all deeply familiar with cancer. There was an estimated 18.1 million cases worldwide in 2020, and so oftentimes if you ask someone if they have a ‘cancer story’, the answer will be yes.

Back in January of this year, I was over in New York meeting colleagues and networking (pictured below), and I suddenly got a stabbing pain around my heart. Immediately, I assumed the worst, and took myself to a walk-in clinic. When I was being seen to, I was taken off-guard by the doctor asking when my last mammogram was, to which I told him it was August 2022, and he quickly dismissed the pain being anything to do with my breasts.

A few weeks after my return to the UK, I felt the same pain again. I went to get myself checked, and when I did I asked specifically if I could have a mammogram done. Despite the doctor believing that this wasn’t necessary, she agreed. After my mammogram, I was then invited to do an ultrasound, and then a biopsy all in the same day. Weeks later, I was given my diagnosis of breast cancer.

This was when the reality of my situation really hit me, and what I’ve seen throughout my journey with cancer is that every person’s experience with it is entirely unique. For me, being told what was wrong just immediately put me into action-mode. I wanted to create an action plan of how to get rid of it, I wasn’t really letting the weight of the word be felt. It was only when you have to navigate telling loved ones, friends, and colleagues that it became harder.

A cancer diagnosis is undoubtedly going to affect your working life. It is also going to affect your personal life in a number of ways depending on the context of your situation, and this will no doubt have trickle down effects into your professional life as well. In a situation like this, when someone receives a diagnosis of a long-term illness, the line between professional and personal is forced to blur, and how an employer responds to and supports someone through this is a very key part of their journey.

Whilst I was fortunate enough to have a great support network around me, including family, friends, and colleagues, for others this situation can be very different. For those who have a smaller network, or for those who live alone, something like work can play a huge role in their life and act as an important factor to getting them out of bed in the morning. With a diagnosis comes treatment, and this inevitably means having to go through months of recovery, and this can result in a lot of loneliness and feeling like you lack purpose.

In the same breath, a cancer diagnosis can be straining on relationships. Some find that their romantic relationships break down during this time, and this is going to have a great effect on someone as they embark on their journey.

What I am trying to highlight is that the context of cancer is always going to be different, and so for an employer, the best thing they can do in this situation is communicate with their staff member. Ask them what support they need, what they feel will best help them, and take it upon themselves to become familiar with what it looks like to support someone with their specific diagnosis – as each cancer is entirely different.

In addition to this, regular one-to-ones and check-ins just as a standard practice are a great way of ensuring that managers remain up to date and consistent. I could not believe how many people felt embarrassed or ashamed of having to tell their employers about their diagnosis, to the point where they wouldn’t even disclose it until their surgery date had been set. Having these regular check-ins as standard practice is much more likely to result in employees feeling they can be honest and open about something like this.

In the next part of this series, I am going to be discussing what role the employer can play in supporting a staff member who is going through the treatment and recovery process of their cancer journey. In the final part, we will explore the remission and return to work, and the best ways for employers to make this re-assimilation as smooth as possible.

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss the coaching services and workshops we offer around cancer in the workplace, please get in touch with me at therese@orgshakers.com