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What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

blog.bonnieeisenman.com

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Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#2
Very thoughtful author. I would like to get her thoughts on where a employeer should draw the line on staying that a disability cannot be accommodated. For example, someone who had a light sensitivity as well as PTSD may need to work in a dark quiet environment. How far does the company go to support that need?

Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#3
post #2

Very thoughtful author. I would like to get her thoughts on where a employeer should draw the line on staying that a disability cannot be accommodated. For example, someone who had a light sensitivity as well as PTSD may need to work in a dark quiet environment. How far does the company go to support that need?

If the company wants employment to be a success, rather than a temporary period of grudging extraction of value through pain, then they have to go as far as is necessary to accommodate the employee.

The details will be different for every case, but generous work from home rules can help a lot.

Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#4
Great post! The general point of „being honest with yourself and the people around you“ is something much more people should take to heart, regardless of any existing medical conditions. It makes life so much easier and once you have a clearly defined problem you can start working on an effective solution. It all comes down to software engineering, really ;)

Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#5
I really liked this article. A lot of the things mentioned seem to be necessary because the author has “passing privilege”, but some are necessary due to poor management practices. Stand ups and in person meetings are two spots where this frequently happens.

I’ve inherited teams where everyone needs to stand during standup, or worse, where they do the push-up/plank thing if you want to speak. It shouldn’t take a great manager to realize these actions are exclusionary and have nothing to do with their job. Yes, I've gotten pushback from teams when I've told them to stop doing it during "their standup", but that's something we need to do as leaders.

Likewise for meetings, if you’re holding a meeting and people are standing or sitting on the floor, ask yourself, why are they there, how should they participate, and what should they take out of a meeting. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to meet those goals in the physical space you’ve secured. As the person running the meeting, it's your job to change the location rather than drumming on because it two weeks to schedule the meeting.

Great managers think about these things ahead of time rather than setting up exclusionary environments.

Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#6
post #2

Very thoughtful author. I would like to get her thoughts on where a employeer should draw the line on staying that a disability cannot be accommodated. For example, someone who had a light sensitivity as well as PTSD may need to work in a dark quiet environment. How far does the company go to support that need?

We had someone with migraines needing similar accommodations. She was given her own office.

Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#7
post #2

Very thoughtful author. I would like to get her thoughts on where a employeer should draw the line on staying that a disability cannot be accommodated. For example, someone who had a light sensitivity as well as PTSD may need to work in a dark quiet environment. How far does the company go to support that need?

In one case, I have seen similar issue dealt by home office most of days. It worked remarkably well.

Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#8
post #5

I really liked this article. A lot of the things mentioned seem to be necessary because the author has “passing privilege”, but some are necessary due to poor management practices. Stand ups and in person meetings are two spots where this frequently happens. I’ve inherited teams where everyone needs to stand during standup, or worse, where they do the push-up/plank thing if you want to speak. It shouldn’t take a grea…

> they do the push-up/plank thing if you want to speak

I don't know what that specific practice is, and I think I really really don't want to know.

Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#9
post #8
post #5

I really liked this article. A lot of the things mentioned seem to be necessary because the author has “passing privilege”, but some are necessary due to poor management practices. Stand ups and in person meetings are two spots where this frequently happens. I’ve inherited teams where everyone needs to stand during standup, or worse, where they do the push-up/plank thing if you want to speak. It shouldn’t take a grea…

> they do the push-up/plank thing if you want to speak I don't know what that specific practice is, and I think I really really don't want to know.

You have to plank while speaking, in order to motivate people to speak succinctly. Obviously disadvantages people who aren’t physically fit as they literally don’t get to contribute as much!

Re: What I Know About Being Sick at Work (2018)

#10
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they do the push-up/plank thing if you want to speak I don't know what that specific practice is, and I think I really really don't want to know.

You have to plank while speaking, in order to motivate people to speak succinctly. Obviously disadvantages people who aren’t physically fit as they literally don’t get to contribute as much!

What does "plank" mean in this situation? Dict doesn't seem to help.
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