Are You a Supervisor or a Manager?

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amy, i know you have a lot of experience as a supervisor and an inamore management. So marine described her discomfort in talking about her medical situat on with her manager and other senior leaders. And i'm wondering if you have any counsel to offer managers who want to be supportive when their folks come to them in similar straits. Absolutely. No, no, i really encourage people to think in very concrete, actionable and specific terms: what is the job? What is the obstacle to me doing the job? It stands in doing it well the way i would want to?"

When an acute or chronic health issue disrupts our work life, how do we let our bosses and coworkers know? How vulnerable should we be? And, as managers, how do we best support an employee who discloses a diagnosis? We talk with two women who’ve had to consider these questions while navigating illnesses, and they share advice on disclosing and discussing health issues with colleagues.

Guests:

Maureen Hoch is the editor of HBR.org and the supervising editor of Women at Work.

Laurie Edwards is a writer, a writing instructor at Northeastern University, and an advocate for people with chronic illnesses. Her books are Life Disrupted and In the Kingdom of the Sick.

Resources: