Office notebook. Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, asthma, HIV, depression… According to the National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions, in 2025 25% of the working population will be affected by chronic diseases, which are constantly increasing, compared to 15% in Year 2019 work (Anakt).
These are situations that managers cannot view as a blip in employees’ lives, as they would with the flu or a broken leg. Companies will have to “make do” and “get along” for a long time, because the main feature of all these conditions is sustainability. The acceptance of certain situations by the work collective is therefore essential.
But on the 16the The barometer of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Defender of Rights on the exercise of discrimination in the workplace, carried out in the spring among 3,000 people and published on Thursday, December 14, warns of the extent of the hostile attitude towards sick people: “43% of assets achieved (…) Declare that they have experienced at least one situation of discrimination or discriminatory harassment, all criteria taken together, during their job search or professional career,” shows the barometer.
Whether visible or invisible, lasting affection is unsettling. “A chronic illness that is visible or impacts daily activities increases the risk of discrimination.”points to the document. “I was forbidden from training under the pretext of protecting myself, even though I am a trainer, and I was forbidden from managing (the intern, the working student) on the grounds that I am a professionally recognized sick person.” Doctor, while I always managed it”, testifies a patient quoted in the barometer.
Stigmatizing comments
But the occurrence of such a disease can also have causes “the lack of understanding of the people around you, whether personal or professional, due to the invisibility or impermanence of most symptoms”. The stakes are high: 80% of chronic illnesses are invisible.
Some contexts are more conducive to discrimination than others. Returning from sick leave or requesting a job adjustment are therefore opportunities for stigmatizing comments or hostile behavior. The Barometer cites several uplifting testimonies, including this one: “At the end of my sick leave, I received an email asking me to continue my leave without starting again (which is unlawful and constitutes grounds for dismissal)”. Moral harassment is not far away. Chronically ill workers are overburdened by this: 55% say they have been victims, compared to 35% of the rest of the workforce.
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