Many people who are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis are able to continue working. Even so, they may be anxious about being open about their disease at work. Talking about UC to a boss or co-worker is very different from talking about it with friends and family members.
Who should you tell and when? Will your boss and co-workers hold it against you and think you can't do the job? Do you have any protections if they do? Here are some practical tips for dealing with ulcerative colitis employment issues.
UC at Work: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?
When it comes to jobs, Rima is lucky. Both of her employers knew about her ulcerative colitis before they hired her. And one of them is a doctor. “He knows my health situation and is understanding,” says Rima, a 28-year-old resident of Chicago.
In a perfect world, all employers would be like that. And some employers are understanding and accommodating. Unfortunately, others still discriminate against people with chronic illnesses.
So is it always necessary to tell your boss or employer that you have UC? “Absolutely not,” says Sharon Jedel, PhD, a clinical psychologist in the gastroenterology department at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “It’s a very personal choice. Often it comes down to who you want to share it with, who you need to share it with, and whether it’s enough to say that you have some physical health problems and won’t be in that day.”
The same applies to your fellow employees. You may feel more comfortable if a few co-workers know. But if you feel that a colleague is competitive with you or will take your absences or accommodations as slacking off, there’s no need to bring it up.
Discussing UC with your employer also depends on how it affects your individual work situation. “If you’re sitting at a desk job and there’s a bathroom right across the hall and you can get your work done, I don’t think it’s necessary to tell your employer the specifics,” says Yolandra Johnson, MD, a gastroenterologist at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill.
On the other hand, if you have obvious and intense symptoms, there may be no hiding it.
You are not required by law to tell a prospective employer about your UC unless you are asking for accommodations such as a work station near a restroom or flex time. And it’s illegal for a prospective employer to ask whether you have a disability or chronic illness during a job interview.
