Almost half of all employees aged between 35 and 59 live with at least one chronic illness — and yet the issue remains largely overlooked in the workplace. Migraines, diabetes, MS, Long Covid, ME/CFS, endometriosis, cancer, fibromyalgia, mental health conditions: the faces of chronic illness are as diverse as the people who live with them and who want to work, lead and be effective.
What they have in common: The illness is often invisible — and is therefore frequently endured alone, in silence and in secret. Added to this is the fear of the consequences of coming out: a setback in one’s career, a change in the way colleagues view you, and the feeling of being reduced to the illness rather than to what you are truly capable of and what you contribute.
Having a chronic illness is no obstacle to working. However, this is at odds with a working world designed around constant availability and linear performance.
Since October 2024, Joana Ebbinghaus and Nicola Kriesel from SOCIUS have been hosting a monthly open online salon — a space where those affected, colleagues, managers and anyone involved in shaping organisations can come together to talk openly and without having to justify themselves about what chronic illness really means in a work context. And what it would take to change things.
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