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Health and employment are deeply intertwined. For many individuals, especially people dealing with chronic health conditions or disabilities, managing health and work can feel like an uphill battle.

Managing pain

'This morning I felt a lot of pain. I normally do have what I would call "edge pain", where even with pain medication it’s really there in the background. After suffering a late night and not much sleep, the pains generally intensify and do end up being like migraines, and like neurological pain. So all the nerve endings from my toes, to my back, to my head, to my eyes, you name it, just flare up.'

– Robert

Managing energy levels

'I describe it as working with a broken phone battery. So, somebody will go to sleep and they'll charge and they'll have 100% charge the next morning. When I was really poorly, I had 2%. I could only get to the bathroom and back. That was for months. Now it's probably 60% on a good day. But I'm not going to have a good day every day.'

– Mary

Line management

'I had a manager I'd worked with for over 20 years. She knew me and my quirks and my idiosyncrasies. When she retired, the new manager had absolutely no time for any of the things that were informally in place. I've never been very good at getting in at 9 o’clock in the morning but would always do the work. And that caused, I think, the breakdown that I had.'

– James

Fighting stereotypes

'There are assumptions made about my health conditions. I always have this feeling that I've got to prove myself in every situation that I'm in. I'm fighting those stereotypes.

'When I say I need a reasonable adjustment for something physical, they assume it's because of my weight and that's not necessarily true. In the past I've had more negative experiences where somebody's basically gone, ‘Well, that’s your own fault so we can’t make an adjustment for that.’ That's not OK but then I've not had the self-esteem and been able to speak up for myself.'

– Chloe

Navigating the system

'There's an Access to Work Fund, but guess what? You can't find out how much money you can get from it until you've already registered as self-employed and got your basic tax code number. At that point, you've committed to being self-employed. So, you can't actually claim benefits. There isn't a navigator who'll sit there with you and say, 'This is how you get through this system.' I need somebody to help me find my way through that system. Without that support, which is effective and personalised to me, I'd have to do it all by myself.'

– Charles

Exhausting anxiety

'I do suffer with anxiety quite a lot. I rarely miss work, but I may some days struggle. If it's a particularly busy day and there's lots of meetings going on, it can be quite exhausting. By the end of the day, trying to keep the anxiety in check, do the job and then just get home.'

– Sandra

Home adaptations

'I became a wheelchair user quite recently, and my house is just not suitable at all. I'm in this in-between where I earn too much money to have a Disabled Facilities Grant for them to actually do the work. I was like, "I don't know anything about ramps or wheelchairs, or accessible kitchens or showers. Can you at least give me some advice? Or at least tell me where to go so I can pay for these things myself? If I have to pay for them myself, that's fair enough – but tell me what I need to do. Tell me some trustworthy builders." And then it's just like "no." Nothing. Not a leaflet, not anything.'

– Yasmin

A supportive employer 

‘My current employer is really understanding. They let me work from home when I’m not feeling well and have a clear process for taking mental health days. It’s made a world of difference to how I manage my condition.’

Flexible working 

‘Since my company introduced mental health days, I’ve felt more balanced and supported in managing my stress.’ 

Support from family 

‘Because I've got arthritis in my hand, some mornings are really painful. So I get my husband to drop me off at work and pick me up as well. So that's a great thing, to be able to rely on someone.’ 

Coordinated support 

‘What would be really useful is when you ask for help with your GP, or if it's a council, or if it's your care worker, everyone can talk to each other, so you're not repeating yourself 1,000 million times.’