Challenge of Cancer in the Workplace

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Cancer in the work place is a delicate matter. Cancer is a life-and-death issue for the employee undergoing treatment. And it touches co-workers who watch this struggle unfold. They watch how the company responds to this unusual -- and yet potentially universal -- challenge, since it may say how they, too, will be treated one day.

And while the CEO is the keeper of the higher values of the company, s/he is also the guardian of the organization's primary mission: producing the goods or services that make the business viable. In addressing the employee with cancer, a balance must be struck between the needs of the business and the varying needs of the employee.

It is possible to leave this balancing act to individual managers and supervisors. And in the end, much of any successful approach to supporting employees with cancer will occur in the crucible of that relationship. But the Managing Through Cancer approach assumes that this balance is best struck within a framework crafted, communicated and implemented by the larger organization.

It is too much to ask individual managers and supervisors to resolve on their own the many apparent and real conflicts between the demands of a struggling employee and the requirements of a demanding workplace. It is the role of the culture to provide the framework that eases everyone's burden.

Cancer in the workplace is never easy, but the CEO plays the leading role in evolving the culture to support both managers and employees wrestling with these issues. The set of principles below offers a way to frame this issue so that all the central characters -- employee, manager, HR -- can have the guidance and clarity that makes decision-making in this circumstance clearer and more constructive. In the end, the buck stops, as always, with the CEO. The Managing Through Cancer Principles offer the place to start.