Managerial attitudes: influences on workforce outcomes for working women with chronic illness

Individual managers may make judgements and decisions which reflect social expectations rather than organisational policy. Society generally requires that individuals with an illness take leave from their work, seek medical assistance and return when they are well. This is not possible for individuals with chronic illness. By its nature, chronic illness has no cure. Individuals who are diagnosed with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis,diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease and who also undertake paid employment may need to disclose their illness and seek some form of accommodation in their workplace. Understanding attitudes of managers plays a significant role in the success of managing work and chronic illness. This article examines the working experiences of women with chronic illness where the attitudes of managers were less understandin

Tertiary students with a disability or chronic illness: stigma and study

This paper explores ways to support the learning of students with a disability or chronic illness based on preliminary findings of a University of Southern Queensland study, and supporting secondary literature. It argues that for such students the capacity for greater control and management of their ‘learning journey’ is as important as access to specialised disability support services. This is because reframing support of students with a disability or chronic illness in terms of ‘choice’ and ‘self-management’ allows them to maintain their identity as ‘able, effective students’. This approach is supported by secondary literature, which affirms that for students with an invisible disability or chronic illness there is often a reluctance to be so – labelled because of the associated stigma. Instead, students often manage their illness by making particular choices about their learning, including their mode of study, and which courses to enrol in. This tendency is echoed by preliminary findings from a University of Southern Queensland (USQ) study based on the learning experiences of students with a chronic illness. These and other findings point to the centrality of the student learning experience and have implications for learning and teaching design within both enabling, and broader university curricula. The paper finishes by examining specific curriculum design responses to the issue of student disability, including the development of learning communities and the potential for more inclusive assessment modes and practices

Catching them is one thing, keeping them is something else: reflections on teaching first year university students

[Abstract]: This paper documents teaching practices that have been identified, by the teaching team, as improving student success rates in a first year tertiary level compulsory subject. Constructivism, scaffolding, social presence and reflective practice are the key concepts which have proved to be successful in transitioning students in this subject to university study. Outcomes have consisted of goal achievement by individual students, increased student retention and success rates

The personal and the professional: betwixt and between the paid and unpaid responsibilities of working women with chronic illness

The labour market outcomes experienced by women with chronic illness are subject to a number of influences. These influences have been recently expanded to include the normative expectations of wellbeing as a prerequisite for productivity in their various social and working roles. Discussion of these factors is often situated within the bounds of the workplace. One area, external to the workplace, which needs greater attention is the role of family and friends as part of the support network for these women. The personal environment has the potential to allow women with chronic illness to excel in their work and careers, however, it may also result in less positive outcomes. This paper examines the workforce experiences of women with chronic illness and role that personal and professional influences play in their workplace outcomes

Introducing concepts of workforce diversity

This edited volume highlights relevant issues and solutions for diversity groups within the workplace. It explores issues of identity as they relate to attributes of gender, age, migrant labor, disability, and power in social spaces. Identity is rarely well-defined in many social spaces, and understandings that define belonging are often developed through the normative expectations of others. Having an evidence-based approach in addressing these relevant issues, this book will appeal to academics and practitioners alike looking for practical and theoretical solutions to improving the situations of these groups in paid employment

Reflections and conclusions [to Work and identity: contemporary perspectives on workplace diversity]

In this book, we have examined the challenges and opportunities that employees with diverse social identities experience in their places of work. The themes of disability, age, gender, migrant status as well as historical and current issues relating to authority, power and support have been investigated

The changing nature of educational support for students with disabilities

This paper looks at the past experiences of students with disability at a regional university and examines the changing ways of providing support which better prepare students for entry to the workforce. Previously, the provision of support consisted of advocacy services and other forms of support such as note-taking assistance. Staff in the Disability Resources section identified additional areas that students need assistance with, in order to begin their transition to workforce while they are at university. This developmental approach extends the support available to include assistance with the development of self-advocacy and resilience skills as well as the multi-disciplinary care of self. This chapter examines the specifically designed support delivered via a coaching process outside the expected advocacy roles traditionally undertaken by Disability Resources

Work, employment and industrial relations policy

The employment relationship – that between employer and employee – is at the heart of capitalism and a core issue for public policy. Governments create rules, policies and institutions within which employees and their representatives, and employers and their representatives, operate. The interest to governments when creating policy includes the form that bargaining takes, wage and employment levels, the nature and effects of contracting and the rights of workers – much of this boiling down to issues of power. In recent decades, major policy issues have included the federal Labor government’s Prices and Incomes Accords in the 1980s and 1990s, the Coalition government’s ‘WorkChoices’ legislation, the shift to enterprise bargaining, and developments in such areas as minimum wages and pay equity. In this chapter we outline the matters at stake, the players, the policy processes and some of the key issues

Putting chronically-ill university students into the research limelight

Students with chronic illness experience a life event which has the potential to impact severely on their learning experiences at university. Researchers face the dilemma of prying into students' experiences even though such a move may be confronting. Successful research in this area requires recognition that it will push particular student characteristics into the limelight and these are characteristics which students have sometimes worked diligently to hide for fear of being stigmatised. Researchers in this field, then, need to gain the trust of chronically ill students and develop a full understanding of students' experiences, rather than taking a distrusting view and assuming that their claims of illness may potentially be discredited. On the stage of university life, students with chronic illness often need to manage the difficulties of switching roles – from appearing 'normal' to needing some assistance. However, limited research has focused on the factors which impinge on the learning environment of chronically ill tertiary students. To open this field to more detailed consideration, this paper will consider some of the difficulties of undertaking research about students who have chronic illness