Researchers recently interviewed cancer survivors, healthcare providers and employers. They frequently recommended the following types of accommodations for employees with cancer:
- graduated return to work plans
- flexible work schedules
- modification of work duties
- altered performance expectations
- retraining
- supports at the workplace
- changes to physical work environments
- provision of adaptive aids/technologies
Study participants identified the following processes as important to ensuring effective accommodations:
- developing knowledge about accommodations
- employers’ ability to accommodate
- negotiating reasonable accommodations
- customizing accommodations to individual employees
- implementing and monitoring accommodation plans
Employers, healthcare providers and cancer survivors noted several challenges in making accommodations:
- survivors’ fears about requesting accommodations
- developing clear and specific accommodations
- jobs where accommodations are difficult to make
- strained relationships at work before the cancer diagnosis
- insufficient or inflexible workplace policies
- employer concerns about productivity and setting precedents by modifying duties
For more information on accommodating cancer survivors watch the video Developing Effective Workplace Accommodations – Survivor, Provider and Employer Perspectives Presentation by Mary Stergiou-Kita, PhD.
To learn about resources, strategies and approaches that employers can use to accommodate employees with disabilities, listen to the webinar Best Practices in Accommodating Employees in the Workplace, presented by Employment and Social Development Canada in collaboration with Canadian Business SenseAbility. (Free WebEx software may be required.)
