Chapter 1Title: IntroductionAuthors: Charlotte Brownlow and Shalene Werth (University of Southern Queensland)The introduction sets out the broad analytic frame of the edited collection, discussing the complex intersection between workplace and individual identities, and how these position individuals in particular ways. The chapter outlines how this analytic frame sets the context for the five sections of the collection: disability; age; gender; migrant workers; authority, power and support.SECTION 1: DISABILITYChapter 2Title: Issues of power and disclosure for women with chronic illness in their places of workAuthors: Shalene Werth (University of Southern Queensland), David Peetz (Griffith University) & Kaye Broadbent (Griffith University)The disclosure decisions of women with chronic illness in their places of work are influenced by a number of factors, these include: the stigma associated with their diagnosis, available flexibilities and the individual's power within their workplace. However, the topic of power as it relates to women with chronic illness is largely unexplored. In this study we conducted twenty-four semi-structured interviews of employed women with chronic illness. Illnesses included various forms of arthritis, cancer, Crohn's disease, depression and lupus. The stories of these women are presented as narratives. Chronic illness influences each part of an individual's life. Using a narrative approach provides a greater understanding of these influences and the connections between each of them. This research found that disclosure provides the key to accessing power for women with chronic illness. Where the individual has not disclosed they are significantly disadvantaged as they cannot seek accommodations for their illness, this is because their interests, relating to their chronic illness, are prevented from being advanced. Power combined with resource dependency theory, helps to explain the importance of having the skills and knowledge, or access to other sources of power such as union membership, in order for these women to obtain the accommodations that they need for their illness.Chapter 3Title: Chronic Health Conditions & Work IdentityAuthors: Joy Beatty (University of Michigan) & Alyssa McGonagle (Wayne State University)In this chapter, we plan to discuss issues associated with employees managing chronic health conditions at work, including the effects on their identities, communication, and career trajectories. We use the term "chronic health conditions" to refer to both chronic illness and chronic pain. Chronic illnesses are diseases of long duration and generally slow progression that do not spontaneously resolve and are rarely cured (World Health Organization, 2015). Examples of chronic illnesses include HIV/AIDS, arthritis, heart disease, epilepsy, and diabetes. Chronic ongoing pain, which may or may not be the result of an illness, is also of long duration and also affects individuals' working experiences in similar ways. Although chronic health conditions are similar to disabilities, they have some unique considerations which make them distinct (we will explain the similarities and distinctions between chronic health conditions and disability further in the chapter). Chronic health conditions may cover a broad range of physical issues, but a major commonality is the need for long-term management. People with chronic health conditions will likely need to attend to or manage their conditions over the entire course of their working lives. Long-term management might include coping with symptoms and side-effects of medication and treatments; attending medical appointments; maintaining special diets; and taking regular rest breaks. They may also need to conduct career planning with future health limitations in mind (Charmaz, 1987; Munir et al., 2007; see Beatty and Joffe (2006) for a comprehensive discussion of career effects of chronic illness).Chronic health conditions may be highly variable in their effects, symptoms and trajectory of progression. For example, many chronic illnesses are progressive, meaning an individual will get worse over time. The symptoms of chronic health conditions may have "flares" or periods where symptoms temporarily worsen. The unpredictability can make it difficult for employees to maintain their work schedule and job performance.Further, many illness symptoms are invisible or ambiguous. Therefore, workers with chronic health conditions may choose to manage their identity by concealing their illnesses at work due to potential stigmatization (Clair, Beatty, & MacLean, 2005; McGonagle & Barnes-Farrell, 2014; Ragins, 2008). Workers with chronic health conditions face decision points related to disclosing their illness, including whether and when to disclose information about illness, to whom, and how much information to reveal. Questions of disclosure lead us to consider identity resolution and identity management, which are key issues for these individuals in the workplace. Chronic illness may be considered a "biographical disruption" (Bury, 1982), requiring workers with chronic health conditions to engage in both internal and external work related to their professional identities (Beatty & McGonagle, 2016). Internal work focuses on identity within one's self and includes: accepting illness and its limitations; building confidence in capabilities; recognizing one's value as a worker; developing structures and processes to assist with work; and adopting assistive devices. External work encompasses work that is related to how one's identity is portrayed and viewed by others and includes both impression management and work related to communicating about one's illness to supervisors, coworkers, and others in one's professional circles (see Beatty & McGonagle, 2016). In this chapter, we plan to expand on these ideas of internal and external identity work.U.S. data suggests that a surprisingly large percentage of the U.S. workforce has chronic health conditions. Estimates of prevalence of chronic health conditions in the U.S. workforce are as high as 68% according to a 2011 Gallup poll. We anticipate that similar data has been found in other countries (this topic will be developed in the chapter). Advances in disease management, coupled with an ageing workforce and trends to delay retirement, collectively contribute to the increase in employees with health conditions. We suggest it is important for employers to be aware of the kinds of issues that employees with chronic health conditions are experiencing, so that they can develop appropriate policies and support systems. For instance, organizations could support narrative identity work by providing one-on-one coaching by an external coach; we have found coaching to be helpful in this regard (Beatty & McGonagle, 2016; McGonagle, Beatty, & Joffe, 2014). Similarly, training for supervisors could be helpful in promoting understanding of issues related to working for this population of workers. Overall, greater knowledge can also help employers avoid unintentional systematic bias caused by structural issues and limitations.Beatty, J. E., & Joffe, R. (2006). An overlooked dimension of diversity: The career effects of chronic illness. Organizational Dynamics, 35(2), 182-195.Beatty, J. E., & McGonagle, A. K. (2016). Coaching employees with chronic illness: Supporting professional identities through biographical work. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring (in press).Bury, M. (1982). Chronic illness as biological disruption. Sociology of Health and Illness, 4(2), 167-182.Charmaz, K. (1987). Struggling for self: Identity levels of the chronically ill. In J. A. Roth & P. Conrad (Eds.), Research in the sociology of health care. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Clair, J. A., Beatty, J. E., & MacLean, T. (2005). Out of sight but not out of mind: Managing invisible social identities in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 78-95.McGonagle, A. K., & Barnes-Farrell, J. (2014). Chronic illness in the workplace: Stigma, identity threat, and strain. Stress & Health, 30, 310-321. doi:doi: 10.1002/smi.2518 McGonagle, A. K., Beatty, J. E., & Joffe, R. (2014). Coaching for workers with chronic illness: Evaluating an intervention. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19, 385-398. doi: 10.1037/a0036601Munir, F., Yarker, J., Haslam, C., Long, H., Leka, S., Griffiths, A., & Cox, S. (2007). Work factors related to psychological and health-related distress among employees with chronic illness. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 17, 259-277.Ragins, B. R. (2008). Disclosure disconnects: Antecedents and consequences of disclosing invisible stigmas across life domains. Academy of Management Review, 33(1), 194-215. World Health Organization. (2015). Noncommunicable diseases. Retrieved November 1, 2015, from http://www.who.int/topics/noncommunicable_diseases/en/ Chapter 4Title: Identity and Autism Spectrum DisorderAuthors: Charlotte Brownlow, Shalene Werth & Kathleen Keefe (University of Southern Queensland)Employees with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are vulnerable in the workplace due to the stigma associated with their condition. Negative attitudes of colleagues can compound misunderstandings of the identity of the individual related to their condition, thus there are risks associated with revealing such a condition. Employees with stigmatised identities perform emotion work in order to cover any difficulties or symptoms that they experience so that they might be considered to be workers with `normal' identities in the workplace. This research utilised an on-line in-depth survey to gather information about the workforce experiences of employees with ASD. This chapter examines the influences identity and factors which impact on the apparent identity of workers with ASD, these include stigma management, peer support and level of disability and required supports. SECTION 2: AGEChapter 5Title: Managing an age diverse workforceAuthor: Katrina Radford (Griffith University)By 2056, with improved health conditions and technological changes, Australia life expectancy is projected to increase to 93.9 years for males and 96.1 years for females. This will result in over 20% of the population aged over 70 years (ABS, 2008). With the added pressures of cost of living increases and subsequent delayed retirement, there will be a continued increase in age diverse workforce in the years to come. Therefore, understanding management strategies to help address retention and turnover challenges are critical. This contribution will present theoretical and practical strategies to address age diversity in the workplace. It will touch upon the challenges of ageism as well as reverse age discrimination in some industries such as the aged care sector. In doing so, it will be able to provide management with an understanding of the challenges that should be expected as well as the opportunities that arise with having an age diverse workforce.Chapter 6Title: The employment implications of framing young paid and unpaid workers as deficientAuthors: Robin Price & Deanna Grant-Smith (Queensland University of Technology)
