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Posts Tagged ‘autoimmune disease’

Keep Working? But How? Author Rosalind Joffe Gives us Some Clues

November 18th, 2008

 

Rosalind Joffe, co-author of Women Work and Autoimmune Disease: Keep Working Girlfriend stops in today on her virtual book tour. I asked Rosalind “how can we deal with the conflict between the need to slow down and care for ourselves, and the pace and intensity of the working world?”  Here’s Rosalind’s response, in our guest post for today:

Continuing to work – and managing to achieve some level of success – while living with chronic illness isn’t for everyone. Women Work and Autoimmune Disease: Keep Working, Girlfriend! explores the strategies and tactics that can help you. But the current work environment can pit us against our best desires to work and maintain a balanced life.

When my mother retired in 1992, she’d been working for 40 years. Testimonials at her retirement dinner reflected on her strong work ethic and her achievements. She’d reached an unusual level of success for a woman at that time in New York City public school administration. And she did it working between 40 to 50 hours/week, with a total of 3 months vacation yearly.

That’s just no longer possible. In the current labor market, the notion that there are no boundaries to the work day and working nights and weekends is the norm. Nor is this attitude limited to “white collar” or salaried jobs. Even hourly workers are expected to work more than their base time.

Cost cutting in a shrinking economy often means doing the same job that 1.5 or even 2 workers had done previously. In this 24/7 work world, too many organizations, big and small, assume that workers will be available whenever and wherever, regardless of the job or role in the organization.

So what does it mean for those of us whose personal resources are being taxed to the max due to a chronic illness?

First, take stock of your situation. Look carefully at who you are now and how you need to work so you can continue to work over the long haul. Throw the picture of “healthy you” in the trash – at least for now—and take a picture of you, right now, and tape it to your computer.

Now, think strategically. Give careful consideration to a career that offers relative stability. Although the current financial crisis shows us that nothing is for certain, some industries will always be more solid than others. You might want that sexy job but are you in a position to take the risk?

Additionally, when looking for a new job, focus on finding an organization that values its employees above all else. This can be the most critical element in your ability to keep working. My booklet, the Keep Working with Chronic Illness Workbook, complements the book. It has exercises and worksheets designed specifically with chronic illness issues in mind. Use this to seek work that meets your true needs and values.

Finally, no matter where you work or what you do, set limits. As long as you’re getting your job done to your satisfaction, you can decide where to set boundaries and draw the line.

At the end of the day, only you know if you can do the job. It often means modifying your own expectations. But when you take responsibility for managing your time and energy (even if you can’t make yourself healthy), you’ve put yourself in the driver’s seat. Remember, you could have a long work life ahead of you and now is the time to make it work for you.

Rosalind Joffe, co-author of Women, Work and Autoimmune Disease: Keep Working, Girlfriend! is president of cicoach.com, a resource for professionals who live with chronic illness. Check out her website CI Coach which is filled with resources about career challenges living with CI and her blog, Working with Chronic Illness.

Tags: autoimmune disease, career, chronic illness, working
Posted in Books, Managing | Comments (2)

Keep Working, Girlfriend! Book Tour

November 1st, 2008

One of the most important issues for any of us facing chronic illness is the issue of staying employed, or
how to support ourselves while managing our illness.  It is an issue we will be exploring at greater length in the coming months here at Free my Brain as we look at the merits and drawbacks of keeping a job, finding home-based employment, starting a business, or not working at all, when managing life with Migraine disease.  Rosalind Joffe, Chronic Illness Coach, specializes in helping women with autoimmune diseases keep on working!

I’m participating in Rosalind’s Virtual Book Tour, along with other chronic illness bloggers, to bring attention to this important new book: Women, Work and Autoimmune Disease: Keep Working, Girlfriend! From Nov. 3 – Nov. 21,  the other bloggers and I will be reviewing the book,
interviewing the author, hosting guest posts, and bringing attention to this important issue.  Rosalind will be writing a guest post here on Free my Brain on Tuesday, November 18.  First stop on the tour will be at Rhymes with Migraine on November 3rd.  In the meantime, please visit Keep Working Girlfriend for a list of the other bloggers/stops on the tour.  You can also check out the book itself, which is described as a “voice of warmth, wisdom, understanding, and sisterhood,“ encouraging “women with chronic illness to stay as successfully employed as possible.” Click on the image of the book at the right to read more about it or purchase through Amazon.com.

– Megan

Takes a licking but keeps on working!

Tags: autoimmune disease, chronic illness, Migraine disease, Rosalind Joffe, women, work
Posted in Books | Comments (0)