Rheumatoid Society Addresses Employment Disparity

Workers with rheumatic diseases need to inform their employers of their condition, in the hope that the employers will respond by modifying the job enough to make it safer. That is the goal of an ongoing campaign to educate employers and employees about rheumatoid arthritis that is being sponsored by the U.K. National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society.

More than 56% of patients with RA stopped working within a year of receiving their diagnosis, according to the 2010 National Rheumatoid Arthritis Survey that will be discussed today by Clare Jacklin, external affairs manager of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). Ms. Jacklin said in an interview that the society is working to address this most startling finding. Although the 2010 survey focused on Scotland, a similar study in 2007 showed the same issues spanning the entire United Kingdom.

To achieve this goal, NRAS led a series of 10 workshops throughout the United Kingdom in 2010 to educate employers and employees about RA.

"With the right information at the right time, people are given the confidence to disclose their condition to their employers and many lost jobs can be avoided," Ms. Jacklin said in an interview. The most common areas of employment for respondents with a full or part-time job were professionals (nearly 35%), office workers (approximately 30%), and health workers (about 25%).

Since starting the campaign in 2007, the society has experienced an influx of calls to their help center for information and support in work-related issues, Ms. Jacklin said. She added that the majority of calls come from recently diagnosed patients who are unsure how to talk to their manager or colleagues about their disease. Others who call the society’s help center don’t know their rights and think they are experiencing discrimination. In addition to employer awareness, NRAS is seeking U.K. government support so that even small businesses can accommodate their employees with a chronic condition to continue working, Ms. Jacklin said.

Of the 45 respondents in the 2010 survey who reported that they were not working because of their disease, 56% (25 respondents) said they stopped working 1 year after diagnosis, and 80% (36 respondents) after 6 years. However, within the same group that reported they’d stopped working, 51% (23 respondents) said they would return to work if they could find a job that would accommodate their disease. Those who reported still working said that their work is often affected by their pain (64.4%) or fatigue (81.1%). An additional 58.8% said that they are often unable to carry out their duties because of physical limitations, and 55.6% have had to take time off work. NRAS included responses from 198 participants in their survey results.

NRAS would like to see the government reward employers who support people with disabilities in order to highlight the benefit of such accommodations to everyone: the individual, the company, the economy, and society, Ms. Jacklin said. NRAS recommendations for improvement in the workplace include expedited access to a rheumatology team for managing flares and drug side effects, increased government education and support, increased flexibility and support from the employer, and patient awareness of their own rights.

Ms. Jacklin reported no financial conflicts of interest.

Workers with rheumatic diseases need to inform their employers of their condition, in the hope that the employers will respond by modifying the job enough to make it safer. That is the goal of an ongoing campaign to educate employers and employees about rheumatoid arthritis that is being sponsored by the U.K. National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society.

More than 56% of patients with RA stopped working within a year of receiving their diagnosis, according to the 2010 National Rheumatoid Arthritis Survey that will be discussed today by Clare Jacklin, external affairs manager of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). Ms. Jacklin said in an interview that the society is working to address this most startling finding. Although the 2010 survey focused on Scotland, a similar study in 2007 showed the same issues spanning the entire United Kingdom.

To achieve this goal, NRAS led a series of 10 workshops throughout the United Kingdom in 2010 to educate employers and employees about RA.

"With the right information at the right time, people are given the confidence to disclose their condition to their employers and many lost jobs can be avoided," Ms. Jacklin said in an interview. The most common areas of employment for respondents with a full or part-time job were professionals (nearly 35%), office workers (approximately 30%), and health workers (about 25%).

Since starting the campaign in 2007, the society has experienced an influx of calls to their help center for information and support in work-related issues, Ms. Jacklin said. She added that the majority of calls come from recently diagnosed patients who are unsure how to talk to their manager or colleagues about their disease. Others who call the society’s help center don’t know their rights and think they are experiencing discrimination. In addition to employer awareness, NRAS is seeking U.K. government support so that even small businesses can accommodate their employees with a chronic condition to continue working, Ms. Jacklin said.

Of the 45 respondents in the 2010 survey who reported that they were not working because of their disease, 56% (25 respondents) said they stopped working 1 year after diagnosis, and 80% (36 respondents) after 6 years. However, within the same group that reported they’d stopped working, 51% (23 respondents) said they would return to work if they could find a job that would accommodate their disease. Those who reported still working said that their work is often affected by their pain (64.4%) or fatigue (81.1%). An additional 58.8% said that they are often unable to carry out their duties because of physical limitations, and 55.6% have had to take time off work. NRAS included responses from 198 participants in their survey results.

NRAS would like to see the government reward employers who support people with disabilities in order to highlight the benefit of such accommodations to everyone: the individual, the company, the economy, and society, Ms. Jacklin said. NRAS recommendations for improvement in the workplace include expedited access to a rheumatology team for managing flares and drug side effects, increased government education and support, increased flexibility and support from the employer, and patient awareness of their own rights.

Ms. Jacklin reported no financial conflicts of interest.

Workers with rheumatic diseases need to inform their employers of their condition, in the hope that the employers will respond by modifying the job enough to make it safer. That is the goal of an ongoing campaign to educate employers and employees about rheumatoid arthritis that is being sponsored by the U.K. National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society.

More than 56% of patients with RA stopped working within a year of receiving their diagnosis, according to the 2010 National Rheumatoid Arthritis Survey that will be discussed today by Clare Jacklin, external affairs manager of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). Ms. Jacklin said in an interview that the society is working to address this most startling finding. Although the 2010 survey focused on Scotland, a similar study in 2007 showed the same issues spanning the entire United Kingdom.

To achieve this goal, NRAS led a series of 10 workshops throughout the United Kingdom in 2010 to educate employers and employees about RA.

"With the right information at the right time, people are given the confidence to disclose their condition to their employers and many lost jobs can be avoided," Ms. Jacklin said in an interview. The most common areas of employment for respondents with a full or part-time job were professionals (nearly 35%), office workers (approximately 30%), and health workers (about 25%).

Since starting the campaign in 2007, the society has experienced an influx of calls to their help center for information and support in work-related issues, Ms. Jacklin said. She added that the majority of calls come from recently diagnosed patients who are unsure how to talk to their manager or colleagues about their disease. Others who call the society’s help center don’t know their rights and think they are experiencing discrimination. In addition to employer awareness, NRAS is seeking U.K. government support so that even small businesses can accommodate their employees with a chronic condition to continue working, Ms. Jacklin said.

Of the 45 respondents in the 2010 survey who reported that they were not working because of their disease, 56% (25 respondents) said they stopped working 1 year after diagnosis, and 80% (36 respondents) after 6 years. However, within the same group that reported they’d stopped working, 51% (23 respondents) said they would return to work if they could find a job that would accommodate their disease. Those who reported still working said that their work is often affected by their pain (64.4%) or fatigue (81.1%). An additional 58.8% said that they are often unable to carry out their duties because of physical limitations, and 55.6% have had to take time off work. NRAS included responses from 198 participants in their survey results.

NRAS would like to see the government reward employers who support people with disabilities in order to highlight the benefit of such accommodations to everyone: the individual, the company, the economy, and society, Ms. Jacklin said. NRAS recommendations for improvement in the workplace include expedited access to a rheumatology team for managing flares and drug side effects, increased government education and support, increased flexibility and support from the employer, and patient awareness of their own rights.

Ms. Jacklin reported no financial conflicts of interest.