Challenges of Cancer-Bias Remain
Challenges of Cancer-Bias Remain | Human Resource Executive Online
The author of a pioneering study on cancer in the workplace dies, but the challenges remain. HR needs to better train and educate supervisors and co-workers on the potential problems cancer survivors face on the job.
By Andrew R. McIlvaine
Frances Lomas Feldman, a professor at the University of Southern California who conducted a groundbreaking study during the 1970s that showed cancer survivors faced severe discrimination in the workplace, died earlier this month at the age of 95.
Feldman's study, begun in 1976, uncovered harsh and even illegal conditions imposed on cancer survivors by their employers, and prompted the American Cancer Society to call attention to the problem.
And, while many of the problems have been addressed, some challenges remain.
Feldman's study of more than 200 cancer survivors found that more than 50 percent of white-collar workers and 84 percent of blue-collar workers faced discrimination when they returned to work. The discrimination took the form of demotions, denials of promotion and withdrawal of health coverage.
Tenbroeck Smith, director of operations at the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society, says legislation such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, have made some of the study's findings obsolete.
Even so, he says, cancer survivors still face obstacles as they struggle to reintegrate themselves into the world of work after sometimes long periods spent getting treatment. Those obstacles are more subtle than in years past, he says, but are nearly as daunting as some of the more overt instances of bias.
"When Feldman first came out with her study, the attitude among most managers and supervisors was that a cancer diagnosis was a death sentence," says Smith. "Back in the '70s, the five-year survival rate for cancer patients was less than 50 percent."
This attitude often led to cancer patients being denied promotions and work assignments because their employers simply didn't expect them to be around for much longer, he says.
Today, advances in treatment and earlier detection have led to much higher survival rates, and most managers understand that cancer is a treatable disease, he says. And yet, today's cancer survivors continue to face work-related problems, only these go under names such as "job lock," says Smith.
"Job lock refers to a situation where a cancer survivor is afraid to leave his or her job because they're worried about losing their health insurance," he says.
While that situation may apply to any ill worker, it's an especially pressing issue for cancer survivors, many of whom will continue to need expensive treatments for the remainder of their lives, he says.
Nearly two in 10 (19 percent) of 5,000 cancer survivors surveyed recently by Smith cited job lock as an issue for them, while 15 percent said they faced difficulty in pursuing the careers of their choice, he says.
Eight percent said they faced discrimination as a result of their condition, which Smith says is proof that things have improved a great deal for cancer survivors since Feldman's study.
Nevertheless, Smith says, employers should do more to ensure that cancer patients and survivors feel supported.
"Even today, many patients are reluctant to make their condition known to their employer for fear it will be used against them," he says. "It's one thing to have a law on the books that says you're theoretically protected, but it's quite another to actually have to file a suit against your company, especially when you're sick. Most people are terrified of finding themselves in that situation."
HR should ensure that supervisors and co-workers understand the need for flexible-work arrangements for employees who need to take time off for treatments, while providing information -- including about
ACS services
-- to help them navigate the thicket of medical information that surrounds cancer, he says.
HR should also take steps to ensure that a cancer-stricken worker's colleagues and supervisors understand the way treatments may affect work performance, in cases where patients have elected to let their co-workers know about their condition, says Barbara Coleman, an oncology social worker at the
Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation
in Nashville.
"Many times, when a patient has been out for treatment and returns to work, people assume he or she is fine, when in fact people who've undergone treatment struggle with fatigue for a long time afterward," she says.
The Foundation -- named after the beloved country music character created by comedian Sarah Cannon, who herself was a breast cancer survivor -- has produced Cancer in the Workplace, an informational DVD designed to help companies better understand the implications of a cancer diagnosis of an employee. It's also offers advice on ways to better provide workplace support to employees during treatment.
The DVD, which features commentary from cancer patients and survivors as well as legal and regulatory information, is available free of charge.
Feldman's cancer study was just one among many initiatives undertaken by the USC professor of social work. Her original research on the effects of financial stress on families led her to co-found a national network of nonprofit credit-counseling services that exists to this day, while her on-site research into the needs of Alaska's natives led to many improvements in that state's basic services, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"Frances had a very unique quality of concern for every person she met, which is probably why she had so many people who felt they were her best friend," says Marilyn Flynn, dean of USC's School of Social Work. "It's part of what gave her such insight into the stresses and experiences that people felt at the workplace."
October 27, 2008 Copyright 2008© LRP Publications
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