Going Back to Work After a Long Ilness

Guest Blogger -Katrina Buckley gives her personal experiences on the issue

Returning to work after illness, can be a very sensitive, emotional and overwhelming time for some and when asked to write about this I wondered where to start. What would people want to know and what would they find useful? Everyone’s experience is unique - fighting an illness (like cancer in my situation) can often be a long and difficult journey with many life changing aspects, least of all returning to work. I soon realised that I could never tick every box but what I could do is tell it from my experience and hope that by doing so I could perhaps give some inspiration and insight to others.

Take time to discuss options with your employer, this will help you to understand what support is available to you. Whether you’ve been off work due to illness, or like in my case, illness appears suddenly, it’s good to talk. Talk with your employer, explain the situation and discuss options. I was very fortunate to have a good working relationship with my employer and colleagues and was able to lean on them for support. After taking some initial time off for surgery, and I suppose to deal with the emotional aftermath of my diagnosis, I quickly returned to work. This set up worked well for me and I continued to work during treatments, taking agreed time off to recover. Now, as I say I was fortunate and this option won’t work for everyone so it’s important for you to do what’s best for you.

Keep in touch with your employer throughout your time off. This ensures an open communication channel where you can share information - it works both ways; your employer can keep you up to date on what’s happening in the workplace and it helps to keep you involved, to help you feel included. It was important for me to keep my identity, to remain positive and not lose confidence in my abilities which can so easily happen when you have been absent from the workplace for some time.

Think about your options before returning to work. It’s easy to feel isolated when you’re off and many people look forward to returning to work. Working can provide opportunities to reconnect with the outside world and to focus on something other than your illness. It can be an opportunity for;

· a fresh start

· a chance to get involved in new and interesting projects

· taking on a new challenge

However every person’s situation is different and it can be a very daunting time indeed. So, think about your options; use this opportunity to look at your skills and experience and explore how you could use these skills in other types of jobs.

· As a result of my illness/injury do I need to think about doing something different, something less demanding, less physically active?

· Do I want to do something different when I return to work?

· Will I need to update my skills or can I use them elsewhere? Look at job profiles and get some ideas.

· Do I feel confident enough in myself?

· What support is available to me; would flexible and/or reduced working hours be an option, a phased return to work, or temporary work perhaps?

Your answers will help you to understand what it is you want to do in the future and from there it’s best to draw up an action plan; this will help you to achieve your objective.

If you want to go back into the same job or the same line of work, make sure that your skills and knowledge are up to date. If you are returning to the same workplace, great you’ve been keeping in touch and should hopefully have been kept up to date on any changes and developments to working practices during the time you have been off. If not, don’t worry another way to get up to date is to go online and read relevant trade or professional websites and literature, to sign up for regular mailings and news bulletins or simply talk to colleagues you have worked with and ask them what has been going on.

You may have decided that you want to make a fresh start, as opportunities in your previous sector of work might have decreased, or you simply want to try something new, a chance to retrain. Going back to work was the best decision I could ever have made, it was great to have some normality to life, to build my confidence and to have familiarity at a time when everything else in my life was changing. However after a time I started to think about what I really wanted to do, what skills did I have, life skills too, and what really interested me and from there the basis of a plan emerged to begin a new career. By identifying your skills, where you want to develop, and what interests you, you are on the first step to changing your career.

It’s useful to also think about any developments to technology, we all know how things can progress quickly and there may well have been significant changes in this area or you may simply be feeling that your skills need to be updated. Joining a course with a local provider or doing an online course from home is a great way to refresh your skills an boost your confidence.

You may be feeling overwhelmed, you may feel as though you have lost some confidence? It’s perfectly natural to feel this way. It’s easy to say do this, do that when life is in perspective? Work has played such an integral part in your well being that it can seem discouraging and distressing to contemplate going back after being away for so long.

Stay positive, you’ll soon start to gain confidence again and there are lots of ways to help you on that journey. Think about starting a course or perhaps volunteering and getting involved in your community. This helps to build a positive image of your time out of the workplace which will impress future employers and helps you to get some experience and ease yourself back in. This was immensely helpful for me in regaining my self-confidence and self-assurance.

Above all don’t panic, there is lots of help out there for you, from writing a cover letter and CV to interview techniques. Have a look at the candidates’ resources section for help with things like job profiles, skills analysis and finding the right training course; there are lots of sources of information to help you.

And finally, good luck I’m sure you’ll be successful in whatever it is you choose to do.