Articles
Blogs and articles written for various organisations about managing work and cancer. We have organised these according to whether you are: someone who has/has had cancer; an HR professional or a policy maker about managing cancer in the workplace; a line manager; a carer, colleague or supporter of someone with cancer. Choose from the options below:
Or, click here to view a full list of articles.
Top tips on how to support a colleague during and after cancer treatment
Posted: 22nd March 2017
Cancer is having a huge impact within the workplace and this will continue and increase for the foreseeable future. Although long-term absence[1] (lasting over four weeks) only accounts for 5% of all absence episodes, it typically accounts for 30–40% of total working time lost. In 2013 it was estimated to cost the UK £4bn per… [Read More]
Working together towards recovery
Posted: 9th March 2017
For International Women’s Day Barbara was interviewed by the Daily Telegraph for their special supplement on Diversity in the Workplace. Read Daily Telegraph article here (PDF)
Q&A at Trekstock
Posted: 5th January 2017
Barbara Wilson visited Trekstock’s offices in Covent Garden just before Christmas to answer a wide variety of questions about how to manage work and cancer successfully. Watch the video below. https://www.facebook.com/trekstock/videos/1269101939815700/
Managing the performance of people affected by cancer
Posted: 6th December 2016
Here are a couple of case studies to get you thinking: can you spot what the employers should have done differently in the two case studies below? Case 1: A friend of mine, relatively new in a senior role, was diagnosed with cancer. Keen to keep on working during her chemo and with no real… [Read More]
Is your long-term sickness policy fit for work and cancer?
Posted: 23rd September 2016
Returning to work is not a sprint, it’s more like a marathon and sometimes there need to be pauses along the way to draw breath. It’s not a seamless progression, but a long and winding road. Is your long term sickness policy fit for purpose? Read full article here Written for Macmillan Cancer Support, September 2016
Working Carers- The Lost Tribe?
Posted: 6th June 2016
I remember it distinctly. It was just another rather mundane day at the office when I left a meeting to take an urgent phone call. One of our employees had recently become a dad but now – just a few weeks later – a routine blood test had revealed that his wife had acute myeloid… [Read More]
An MP’s experience and advice about working with cancer: Jo Churchill
Posted: 26th April 2016
“It’s really important employers understand that when they are dealing with somebody they are dealing with the person, not the cancer” Jo Churchill talks about her two experiences of cancer, how she dealt with it and what she learned about herself, about other people, about work and about life. Read full article here (PDF) Jo… [Read More]
Managing someone coping with the long term side effects of cancer
Posted: 15th March 2016
If you read my last blog you’ll recall that I wrote, ‘returning to work is not a sprint, it’s more like a marathon and sometimes there needs to be pauses along the way to draw breath. It’s not a seamless progression but a long and winding road’. In most cases this is a journey which… [Read More]
Why is managing cancer at work different? Because it’s cancer.
Posted: 1st March 2016
Part of the work we do at Working With Cancer is to support the line managers of those with cancer. Managing the return to work process of a person with cancer can be like walking a tightrope. You want to do the right thing, to show compassion in what are incredibly difficult circumstances. But you’re… [Read More]
The stories the newspapers don’t cover
Posted: 4th December 2015
I’m sure you will have noticed how many stories there are in the press these days about cancer. Sometimes they are about celebrities and sometimes they are about ordinary people who are coping with, living beyond and dealing with varying cancer diagnoses. These are always inspiring stories of human resilience and emotional strength in the… [Read More]