Dr. Alyssa McGonagle from UNC Charlotte | Rethinking Work for Employees Living with Chronic Health Conditions

Christine: [00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of the HR Scoop. I’m Christine Muldoon, your host, and today we’re talking with Dr. Alyssa McGonagle. She’s the Associate Professor of Psychology and organizational Science at the University of North Carolina. Charlotte Alyssa’s research focuses on worker health. Safety, inclusion, and you guessed it, wellbeing.

One of my favorite topics. Dr. McGonagle has been awarded funding for her research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Institute of Coaching, the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, and the SIOP Foundation. She has published her research in various prestigious outlets, including the Journal of Applied Psychology and the Harvard Business Review.

Dr. McGonagle is also an associate editor for the Journal. Occupational Health Science is co-chair of the Nationwide Healthy Work Design and Wellbeing [00:01:00] Council, and is program director for the Industrial Organizational Psychology Master’s Degree Program at UNC Charlotte. She often speaks to organizations on topics of employee wellbeing and inclusion.

Oh my gosh. What a great resume. Welcome Dr. McGonagle.

Alyssa: Thank you so much. I’m really glad to be here. Thank you for the invitation.

Christine: Of course. And of course, I am so excited to have this conversation today. I love talking with guests that focus on employee wellbeing and also couldn’t help but also mentioned we both attended University of Connecticut, so I went there for my master’s.

You went there for your PhD and I don’t think we ever crossed paths, but here we are today.

Alyssa: Yes.

Christine: So we have a lot of great information to share. I wanna start off with something that, um, I don’t think many of my guests have done, but you’re the author of a book called Chronic [00:02:00] Health Conditions and Work Proactive Strategies for Supporting Employees and doing Well by Doing Good.

And I did look at your book and you open it with a deeply personal story about your MS diagnosis, and you talk about the uncertainty you faced early in your career, including whether you should change paths. You asked advice, um, about should you keep your diagnosis private. There’s obviously a lot going on that really impacted you personally.

And then I guess, sort of had a. A reflection on your career. And so maybe you could share with us a little bit about how that experience actually shaped your approach to the research and leadership that you focus on today.

Alyssa: Yeah, absolutely. And you’re correct in that it was deeply personal, that disclosure.

Um, and for those who know me, it was pretty uncharacteristic of me because I am a very private [00:03:00] person, especially in professional circles. So it, it took a while for me to get to the point where I felt comfortable disclosing that, but I did feel like it was an important thing to disclose in the book because it provides good context for where I’m coming from in terms of bringing my lens to this topic.

Yeah. So my personal lived experiences for sure have, um, influenced the way that I think about these things, the way that I research them and the recommendations that I make to leaders. I recently did a TEDx talk on this very topic, and I got into some more detail on my personal experiences there, and I’ll, I’ll briefly share them with you here too.

Um, but in brief, early in my career, I had a supervisor who said some stigmatizing things about a coworker with ms. Um, this was before I was diagnosed and frankly didn’t even know what MS was at the time. But I know that she was saying, oh, he doesn’t really need time off. Um, you know, his symptoms are [00:04:00] just due to smoking too much pot and, you know, things along those lines.

And I didn’t think that much of it at the time, but a few years later I was personally diagnosed with that mess. And I, I remembered that and, um, remembered how people were laughing and, and sort of making fun of this person, this coworker that I had. And it was, it was really kind of devastating to think that people would say things, similar things about me, potentially.

Um, and I did speak with some mentors and, and I mean, across the board everyone said, don’t tell anyone you have ms. And granted this was, uh, probably more than 25 years ago, but uh, times have changed a bit, but I think people are still very hesitant to disclose for similar reasons, just fearing stigmatization and discrimination.

I didn’t wanna question whether being passed over for a promotion or um, not getting a job was due to my health issue, and so I just didn’t want it to be part of the conversation. [00:05:00] When I was in grad school, I realized that nobody was publishing research on these topics and no one was talking about them in organizations either.

It just seems like a very. Um, neglected topic overall, um, especially compared to how much of a big deal it was for me personally and for a lot of friends that I was making who also had chronic health conditions and were trying to remain employed. So I saw this, this really big gap and decided that I was going to, to do my best to, to start researching in that area.

I, I researched it for my dissertation. I studied stigmatization and discrimination of employees with chronic health issues. Um, and that kicked off a 15 year research stream for me, which is all related to topics around working with chronic health issues, um, supporting workers with chronic health issues and what organizations can do.

I’ll also say, like you mentioned, leadership leaders definitely play a big role [00:06:00] in de-stigmatizing chronic health conditions. You know, I mentioned it on the flip side, you know, they can certainly perpetuate stigma, but they can also work to de-stigmatize and there’s some real opportunities there, which brings a lot of hope and optimism to this research as well.

Um, so yeah, that’s, that’s a little bit about my background and how I kind of landed here.

Christine: I think that’s, uh, super helpful, but also so relevant. I mean, we, we focus on wellbeing and a lot of what you said there is stigma around, you know, maybe you’re saying like, this was your diagnosis years ago, but there’s still a lot of stigma around certain conditions, even in today, mental health that certainly in different organizations.

There’s a lot of stigma. Um, some newer, uh, conditions that we’re talking about, like menopause and you know, a lot of the things that we see is employees are hiding the fact that they have [00:07:00] these conditions similar to what you did because of the stigma, but also the impact. The fear of the impact it would have if people knew about their careers.

Like, is my leader going to question whether I’m able to do my job? And, um, as you said, leaders certainly play a role. You know, we talk with, um, a lot of our clients about, you know, having leadership. Be transparent about mental health challenges that they have been through, or you know, their health conditions because it helps others feel like, okay, this, this organization is a safe place.

It’s relatable and we’re not just promoting wellbeing, but we’re actually, you know, doing it too, you know, from top down. It’s, it’s supported at our organization and employees really feel like that they’re being cared for within their organization. So a lot of the research that you focus on, you argue that chronic health conditions [00:08:00] are really too significant, too big for organizations to ignore.

And so maybe there’s been some progress since your diagnosis years ago, but. Where do you feel that leaders still really underestimate the scale and the impact on employees and, and what are they actually getting wrong today?

Alyssa: Yeah, for sure. Um, I think there’s a few things that, that they’re missing. Um, you mentioned just the scope of it.

So, um, you know, there’s a recent study from the CDC that says that three quarters of US adults have at least one chronic health condition. And a recent poll from the Harvard School of Public Health found that 76% of affected employees actually need to manage their chronic health conditions during work hours.

However, we do know that people oftentimes will keep their diagnoses to themselves for the reasons that [00:09:00] we mentioned, like stigmatization, um, avoiding discrimination, things like that. Um, and so. If supervisors are, are, I think that a big issue is just not realizing that their employees have chronic health conditions or other struggles that they may be going through.

Um, so, you know, because they’re not visible, right? A lot of people with chronic health conditions can conceal the fact that they have an illness. Um, whether that’s intentionally concealing it or it’s just invisible to other people. Like you wouldn’t know by looking at me, for instance, that I have Ms. And so if you don’t know that one of your employees is struggling, then that’s not, you’re not able to problem solve with that employee and open the door to productive conversations that you could have with them about how they can continue working to their optimal capacity.

So I think just, just basically not being aware of the scope of this issue and not understanding that many of their employees may be affected without them [00:10:00] even knowing about it is an issue. I’ll also say that there are some assumptions that chronic health conditions affect older people more, and that is true to some extent.

You’re more likely to be diagnosed as you age, but recent research shows that younger people are being diagnosed with chronic health issues at increasing rates, and that is expected to continue. So it’s not just an issue that older workers face. It’s also affecting young people as well. I think I would also say that chronic health conditions tend to sort of wax and wane.

A lot of times. Symptoms will kind of flare up and then go into remission. Um, people may have periods where they’re very stable and then suddenly have, um, an increase in, in their disease course or their symptoms. And so static accommodations don’t tend to work well, and that can be hard, I think for some leaders to wrap their heads around that this is not a one-time accommodation, but [00:11:00] more productively it is an ongoing conversation between the employee and the manager.

Christine: That makes a lot of sense. Um, you know, we like to say wellbeing is personal and so what might work for one employee may not work for another. And the other thing is you talked about, um, leadership and, you know, making sure like a manager, you know, understands or, you know, realizes they may not realize you have this condition.

Um, I think manager training is important. Okay, so now that I know. Alyssa has this condition, how do I support her? You know, what does this mean? What are the things I should say shouldn’t do? Managers need to be educated and supported so they know the right way to support their employees, and that’s probably one of the, I, I’m guessing the biggest challenges for, for managers today, they are trying to do the right thing, but they’re not trained on recognizing mental health or what does this [00:12:00] condition mean and what should the accommodations be and how can I support.

My individual employees. And then of course recognizing it’s very personal depending on the experience that the employee is having with that particular condition.

Alyssa: Yeah, that is so true. I was just gonna reiterate that point that you were saying, which is that it is, training is absolutely essential. Um, as I was writing my book, I interviewed, um, several leaders in organizations and also HR professionals to get their perspectives on these issues.

And, uh, uniformly across the board people said that training was, was needed. So I I just wanted to underscore that point that you made there.

Christine: Yes, perfect. I mean, it’s probably a very essential component. We know a lot of organizations who, you know, have started to probably since COVID, focus on the mental health of their employees.

And now many organizations are doing mental health first aid training for their managers and people, so. Some progress there, which is fantastic. You know, at Web and B Health services, we work with many [00:13:00] organizations that are bringing workplace wellbeing programs to their employees as part of, or a foundation to their culture.

They really wanna support. The wellbeing of their people. They recognize it’s a long-term strategy and investment, um, and it really needs to be core to their culture. But we’re also, you know, obviously many organizations are, um, focusing on. Return to work policies, you know, it’s, it’s been a while, the pandemic’s over.

Now how do I bring my employees, uh, back into the office and looking at policies that are a part of their overall strategy. I don’t know from your perspective, where do you see these efforts might have the greatest impact? And, and then the reverse is where are there gaps that are, that still remain in really fully supporting employees with these chronic conditions?

Alyssa: Yeah, for sure. So [00:14:00] wellness programs are. Definitely beneficial to organizations. There is some research that shows that they may not have the return on investment that I think organizations had hoped originally. So there were a couple of randomized control trials that. That took a very rigorous look at corporate wellness programs and the return on investment was just not necessarily there.

However, more informal research and polling shows that employees do very much value wellness programs, and so there is a benefit to them in terms of employee retention and recruitment and, um, you know, keeping employees, uh, happy and, and healthy as well. One of the biggest issues, and not to go too far down a rabbit hole here, but is that the people who, who really need those programs the most tend to not use them.

So it’s a bit of a skewed population for a research study because the healthiest people are often the people who, who take advantage of wellness programs. And then, you [00:15:00] know, there’s not a lot of room to go up from there if you’re already sort of healthy. Um, from an ROI perspective. Um, like I said, that’s a bit of a tangent.

Um, I, I do wanna be clear that they are important. However, they are kind of localized solutions, right? They’re targeting the individual person, helping that person manage stress better, um, be healthier, um, have better health behaviors. And while that’s very important, it doesn’t address the more systemic issues to leadership and culture and organizational policies.

Um, that can be some of the root causes of employee stress and, um, you know, it’s sort of like putting a bandaid on, on the situation and not addressing some of those root problems. So while it’s more difficult to dig in, to try to improve organizational culture, improve leadership, things like that, um, those are the types of things that can have more payoff in the long term.

[00:16:00] Um, and benefit employees with chronic health conditions more, you know, for example, shifting your culture to value employee wellbeing more, not just in in in lip service, but, but actually in terms of what you’re doing on the day to day. In terms of, um, return to work programs, those are also very helpful for people who need to take a disability leave and they wanna come back to the working environment.

Um, they can help people transition back, get accommodations that are needed, uh, things like that. But those are a bit reactive, you know, after people have taken a disability leave. And so by making changes to. The job design itself, the work and how that’s, that’s carried out. Um, the policies, the benefits, the culture, those types of things are more proactive strategies that can hopefully help people maintain their ability to work in a, in a better fashion and avoid some of the downstream negative [00:17:00] effects like having to take an extended leave due to disability.

Christine: You know, I was thinking about the, the ROI aspect you brought up and a lot of. Um, what we see in the market is there are organizations that, um, maybe do more of a check the box initiative, right? So, yes, fine, we need wellbeing, you know, employees are asking for it or if we want, uh, to retain our employees.

Um, so let’s just get something, check the box. And it’s, it’s those types of organizations and strategies where. If, let’s say management doesn’t see the immediate return, then when budgets tighten, wellbeing could be a cost that gets cut, versus organizations that truly look at wellbeing as a, an investment in their people and their culture, and so they recognize.

That they’re in it for the long [00:18:00] haul. It’s not a once and done strategy. It has to continually evolve. Leadership has to support it. The workplace has to support it. ’cause we all know when you go to work, you don’t leave life, you know, back at home. They are, uh, tightly intertwined and someone can be at work dealing with a caregiving issue or trying to schedule a doctor’s appointment because they have a chronic condition and they need that level of.

Support in the workplace. People don’t focus on their wellbeing just when they get home, you know, after work. So, um, you know, wellbeing is, you know, 24 7. And, um, when you talked about lip service, totally agree that, you know, you need to have, it has to be part of your culture. You have to fully support wellbeing, um, and allow employees to.

Focus on their wellbeing and recognize that, you know, some of their health challenges, you know, they’re brought to work and they need that support during the workday as well. [00:19:00] Um, one of the things that you talk about is this concept of work health management interference. So could you break that down a little bit for us and share what it looks like maybe for an employee?

Over the course of a typ, typical work week.

Alyssa: Yes, absolutely. And it is a bit of a mouthful, right? Um, uh, but you can thank the peer review journal process for that. I wanted to call it Work Health Conflict, but reviewers did not like

Christine: that, so Oh, that might be better.

Alyssa: Yeah. So here we are. Um, well, this basically is.

Uh, when workers feel that they cannot adequately manage their chronic health condition because work is taking the time and energy that they need to do so, so by definition, chronic health conditions require ongoing management. This can include, for example, eating specialized foods, completing exercise regimens, [00:20:00] administering medication, which could be even injections or infusions that require hospital visits.

Attending therapy sessions and so forth and so on. And so the idea is that, um, time-based interference refers that the amount of refers to the amount of time that an employee is spending on their work role is taking away from the time that they need to complete those management behaviors. And, um.

Energy based interference is when workers feel that the energy that they’re needed that they need to put into their work role is interfering with the energy that they need to take care of their health after work. Many workers that I’ve spoken with in my research studies routinely put everything they have into their work because they need to maintain their job, they need their health insurance, um, very much so, their family needs their income, and they feel like [00:21:00] they’re in a precarious position because of their serious chronic health issue.

And so they put it all into work and at the end of the workday there’s very little left for them to cook up a healthy meal following the diet that their doctor told them to exercise, call to make doctor’s appointments, fight with insurance companies. You know, all of those wonderful things that we have to do, um, health related, um, at the end of the day.

And so. These workers just feel like they’re too drained essentially. To do that. To do those things. And in a series of research studies, uh, my co-authors and I looked at both time-based interference and energy-based interference, and we found. Pretty consistently that energy based interference was the most detrimental, so it wasn’t necessarily having those time conflicts.

Those are bad, but energy, but feeling that you’re too drained to do these things because you’re putting all, everything you have into your work. That’s where the [00:22:00] real problems start in terms of employees experiencing burnout. Lo they’re having lower levels of workability, meaning that they feel like they can’t, they just can’t continue working in their job.

Um, so, and a lot of workers that I’ve spoken to are, are well aware of these issues and, but they don’t feel like they have a way out because they feel like they really have to be doing what they’re doing at work in order to keep their jobs,

Christine: keep their jobs, their benefits to help them, you know, be able to pay for their chronic condition.

That’s a, I mean, it seems logical, what you just explained, it’s a really different way to think about it from the energy perspective. And, you know, we all think about, you know, our gas tanks are full and then, you know, how we burn that gas during the day. To your point, there’s nothing left when I get home to then do all the other things I need to do, which also includes my physical and mental health as well.

[00:23:00] So, so from your research, I, I, I would assume that managers must play a, a role in how this. Energy, you know how to support employees with chronic conditions and the energy that they put into work. What are some of the common mistakes that managers might make when supporting employees with chronic conditions?

Alyssa: Yeah, for sure. Managers play such a critical role and there’s a couple things that I’ll mention. One, you’ve already mentioned this one earlier, but I wanna highlight it again, and that is lack of knowledge. So, like you said, managers don’t get trained on these things, so it’s, it’s really not their fault, but they may not know about chronic health conditions and how they play out at work and the problems that they can pose to people they may not know.

A lot about the Americans with Disabilities Act and how that comes into play in terms of affecting, um, both the, their responsibilities [00:24:00] and the employee’s responsibilities around their disability. Um, so that, I think that is a big one that I’ve run into is, is just simply not having that knowledge, um, even knowing, okay, this is not something for me to deal with.

I need to get someone from HR to help me with this. Or I, you know, I need to send the employee to HR for this. So even knowing that and having that discernment, that that’s really critical as well. Um, I think just the lack of knowledge can lead to things like inadvertent, um, inadvertent bias, um, some misunderstandings that could happen from it.

Um, for example, they might see an employee leaving early a lot and think that they’re lacking commitment to their job or their organization, where in reality, the employee might just need be needing to go to. Doctor’s appointments or therapy sessions or otherwise managing their illness. Um, so if they don’t know that the employee is dealing with that, then they don’t have the context.

Um, I would say the other common [00:25:00] mistake I would say is silence. So not avoiding issues, um, not bringing them up. Um, because it is uncomfortable to talk about these topics and. From a legal perspective, managers might be afraid, like, what do I say? What do I not say? And so I completely understand why they would avoid these topics.

Um, but avoiding them means that they’re not being brought to light and like productive problem solving conversations are not taking place, which could help both the employee and the manager because it could help the employee perform better as well.

Christine: I was thinking about this as sort of like, it seems like a cycle because we’re talking about.

Employees are hesitant to disclose their health condition for fear of right, the implications it might have on their job. But managers are seeing that employee leave early and they’re like wondering where that employee’s going [00:26:00] and are they slacking? But that employee’s really leaving early ’cause they have a doctor’s appointment.

Here we go this cycle. How can whether it’s managers, leaders, and organization overhaul create an environment really where employees feel safe, that they can disclose their chronic condition or why they’re leaving early and and not worry about the impact it might have on their career.

Alyssa: Yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with building a trusting relationship with one subordinates, and there’s a lot of different ways to do that.

But I think, you know, displaying empathy, avoiding, um, demeaning language, inadvertent, demeaning language that, you know, one may not even realize that, that it’s happening. Um, I also think that one of the things you mentioned earlier is really important and that’s. Leaders self-disclosing when they feel comfortable doing [00:27:00] so and when the culture will support it.

Uh, I’ll give you an example. Um, one leader of a global organization who I spoke with when I was writing my book, he decided to disclose some personal struggles that he was going through with his subordinates during the pandemic, and his subordinates were actually took it very well and appreciated his authenticity.

And it turned into a, an ongoing, regular emailed newsletter which spread throughout the company so anyone could sign up and volunteer to provide a story of struggle and resilience. Um, and this helps create and maintain a culture where people value authenticity. People are open about their experiences, and it makes people feel a little more comfortable about being real, about what’s going on.

Beyond the self-disclosure. I think you also touched upon something earlier that’s really [00:28:00] important, which is role modeling self-care behaviors. So using things like paid time off, flexible work arrangements, and not only using them so that your employees can see that they’re being used, but also even saying why you’re doing it.

So for example. You know, I’m gonna be flexing my schedule every Wednesday morning because I’m attending a weekly therapy appointment that can help de-stigmatize, um, getting treatment for mental health issues, for example. Um, so I would say those are the big ones for me. The self-disclosure modeling self-care behaviors, like using, um, paid time off, and also being very open about it.

Christine: You know, um, in full disclosure, Alyssa, um, over a year ago, I actually found out I had a brain tumor and I had brain surgery. And I was very, first of all, sometimes things like that are hard to hide, but I was pretty transparent and you know, like, [00:29:00] I’m not gonna be able to travel for a little bit or you know, bear with me.

’cause sometimes like it’s a little bit hard for me to remember, you know, you’re someone’s name or like whatever we discussed in the last meeting. So I’m taking extra good notes today. And so, but I, like, for me it was just being transparent because. There was a lot of things that were impacting really how I was showing up to work, doing my job, supporting my team, and I didn’t want them to think I was slacking, but I was definitely having some challenges and I hope that, you know, also helped others see that like.

I wanna be a supportive leader and, um, you know, I, I wanna reduce stigma as much as possible within our organization and our team. And I think these are just recognizing that everyone’s human and people have things. It may not be a chronic condition, it might be something else, but people show up to work and they could be in a really bad mood and you just don’t know sometimes.[00:30:00]

What it was, and then what’s going on behind the scenes. But then also if you’re a manager, you know, hey, you seemed a little off in that meeting, is everything okay? You know, so I think it’s just, you know, a lot of what you said, it’s reducing that stigma, opening the door. We’re all human. You know, having that leader show, you know, they’re sharing their own personal stories.

These are all, I think, real human like. It’s humanizing the workplace and showing real things happen to everyone. So, um. I love your research and I think it’s very valuable. Um, you talk about your, the, the solutions, I guess across three levels in its organization, job design, and then the individual. I think I have an idea about this, but maybe if you can like briefly explain each level and that would be helpful.

Alyssa: Yes, of course. So at the highest level, we have organizational supports, and these include changes to the culture, leadership [00:31:00] benefits, even organizational policies. And these are the broadest changes, and they affect all employees in a positive way, and they can be more proactive in preventing some downstream negative effects like employee stress and burnout, and increasing health problems.

At the next level down, we have more job focused changes, and these can include things like increasing flexibility, increasing worker autonomy. So, um, the way that work gets done, um, the, the, um, order in which things get completed, um, providing some schedule predictability for employees where flexibility is not an option.

So if you’re not allowed to have flexibility, at least knowing when you’re scheduled to work in enough advance is super important for employees with chronic health issues. Because as you can imagine, most doctors schedule only during work hours and need [00:32:00] to schedule their employee, their appointments out several weeks in advance.

Um, so having that predictability. Also breaks are very important. So, um, in a research study with employees with diabetes, I heard from a lot of, um, people with diabetes that knowing when they’re having their breaks is critical because they need to be eating and, you know, drinking at the same time every day in order to maintain their blood sugar levels.

Also being able to take breaks when needed can be helpful for people with things like chronic pain because you might need to get up and stretch, or if you’re having a very physical, laborious job, being able to sit for a while. Um, so breaks are a big piece of that as well. Finally, at the, the lowest level, we have individualized strategies, and these are things that can help individuals improve their own personal functioning.

And they include one-on-one coaching, one-on-one mentoring, and I’ll say not necessarily health [00:33:00] coaching around health behaviors, but coaching around how we can problem solve work related issues that intersect with health so that someone can remain employed and avoid burnout for as long as possible.

Christine: That’s a really important one for sure. So I think I wanna wrap this up, but we’ve, we’ve got so much great information, so. What would be three actions you would recommend Lister listeners take within the next 90 days to better support their employees that are living with chronic conditions, living and working with chronic conditions?

Alyssa: Yes. Um, so I’m gonna talk about, first, in terms of HR folks, I would say consider training your managers on these issues. Um, around chronic health conditions, the Americans with Disabilities Act, how to initiate conversations about health, how to respond to employee health related disclosures, um, [00:34:00] what to pass on to HR and so forth and so on.

So that training piece is critical, um, for leaders at all levels. I’ll say consider opening up a bit about your own struggles, if you feel comfortable doing so, and their culture supports it. Um, and role model that self-care, like we talked about, use your paid time off, use your flexible work policies and make it clear why you’re using them.

And for everyone I would say, um, just be careful with assumptions so you never know what someone’s going through. Um, assume everyone is, is trying your best at all times. And um, yeah, I guess that would be my three.

Christine: Okay, so I’m gonna reiterate those three. Condense number one, training. Number two, if you’re a leader, role model.

And number three, don’t assume.

Alyssa: Mm-hmm. Perfect.

Christine: Everyone should remember those. Um, Alyssa, I wanna thank you for sharing your proactive strategies for supporting employees and doing well by doing good. So [00:35:00] that is actually the title of Alyssa’s book, and you can all order that if you wanna learn more. It is out on Amazon.

Alyssa, before I let you go, I have one more question that I ask all of our guests. So here it is, what’s one small shift? Either personally or professionally that has made the biggest difference in your personal wellbeing.

Alyssa: Okay, so. I am gonna say that a focus on somatics and what that means is, is really understanding what’s going on in my body at any given moment has been very helpful for me.

I tend to be in my head a lot, as a lot of academics are. So, um, I often ignored signals that, that were happening from my body, and so being able to more accurately get into my body through mindfulness, pay attention to those somatic experiences. That has been a real game changer for me both personally and professionally.[00:36:00]

Christine: Well, I think that’s fantastic and I really wanna personally thank you for sharing your personal health story. I think it’s another, um, great way to role model as we talked about. So thank you Alyssa, for being my guest today. And thank you all for listening to this episode of the HR Scoop.

Alyssa: Thank you so much for having me.

From invisible illnesses and disclosure challenges to the hidden toll of “energy depletion” at work, this conversation highlights why supporting employee health goes far beyond traditional wellness programs and why proactive, systemic change is critical. 

When most chronic health conditions are managed during work hours—but often go unseen—organizations have a greater responsibility than they may realize. 

“People are putting everything they have into work and there’s nothing left to manage their health.”

This conversation covers: 

• • How stigma and fear of disclosure impact employee performance, engagement and career growth.
  • The concept of “work-health interference” and why energy depletion—not time—is often the biggest barrier.
  • Why flexibility, predictability and ongoing conversations outperform one-time accommodations.