Diabetes in the Workplace: Dealing with Diabetic Employees

When there is a presence of diabetes in the workplace, dealing with diabetic employees can be something employers are led to think twice. However, many people with diabetes have successfully performed their jobs as employees. They have proven that the illness is not an obstacle. As employees, they also have the right to be given a chance to prove themselves like any other.

Employers sometimes find diabetes in the workplace as a unique issue and exclude diabetic employees from certain positions and tasks based on hearsays, myths, fears or stereotypes. They mistakenly assume that if you have diabetes, you will be unable to perform some tasks or you may need a lot of sick leaves. Contrary to that, many diabetics are able to work without much restrictions, that some employers and co-workers never realize they have diabetes at all.

Co-workers and employers maybe biased and associate diabetes with particular accommodation and workplace adjustments like shifting, meal breaks to test their blood sugar levels, inject insulin or take medications.

Job application

Diabetes is not a disability unless it limits a person from performing some activities. Diabetes in the workplace is not a problem and even not a disability if it is managed and controlled well by diabetic employees thru medication, insulin, diet or exercise. During a job application, the employer may not question if the applicant have diabetes, or if he uses insulin and other medications. If considered for the job, the employer can however ask about the applicant’s health conditions and if diabetes is disclosed, he has no reason to withdraw the job offer. The employer can ideally ask two questions: if the applicant needs an accommodation and what type of accommodation.

Job performance

In the workplace, the employer should not take diabetes as the main reason for any employee inefficiency. For example, a secretary is found reporting to the office late almost everyday. Albeit diabetes in the workplace is already known since this secretary is a diabetic employee, but she happens to have enrolled in a night school for a masteral degree. Her night school can be the real culprit for her tardiness and not her sickness.

When an employer sees enough reason to believe that diabetes causes poor job performance, then he can ask for the employee to undergo medical examination. For example, a front-desk office worker, whose task is to greet clients and answer the phone have missed many phone calls due to frequent urination, feeling of being tired or thirsty and has to go to the bathroom often; the job position can be adversely affected with this diabetes in the workplace. If the medical exam finds that the employee has diabetes, the diabetic employee maybe asked to take medications to correct his condition.

It is the employee’s responsibility to manage his diabetes well in order not to badly affect his job. Employers do not want to see any of his employee get weak, or sick because of the workload. His concern is also the employees’ welfare and productivity for the entire organization. If everybody cooperates with him towards achieving the corporate goal, even diabetes is not an issue.