職場新世界：與癌癥共舞
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????不過，并不是所有人都能泰然自若地在辦公室討論疾病。斯彭斯講了她一位客戶的事情，對方是一家農業公司工作勤奮的高級經理。有一天，她向斯彭斯和其他幾個人贈送了禮物，然后就離開了工作崗位，同事還以為她只是去休假，一周后就回來。實際上，她住進了臨終關懷醫院，三天后就離開了人世。斯彭斯說：“我知道這件事時驚呆了，我完全不知道她生病了。” ????斯彭斯認為，雇主可以分為兩大類：一類嚴格遵守病休或傷殘政策和法律；另一類將員工當成個體對待，同時在治療過程中給予支持。根據員工的經驗、價值和預后情況，（雇主）很多決策是一個接著一個做出來的。 ????關愛肺癌患者非營利機構LUNGevity支持和宣傳部門的主管凱特?布朗說：“這是非常個人化的事情。如果雇主真的喜歡這位員工，那他們往往會表現得更加通融，或者更具有同情心。” ????布朗說，有些工作場所會組織“餐飲列車”（meal trains）活動，即每周讓不同的人請罹患癌癥的同事吃一頓飯。她說，另一種形式是購買一種帶有揚聲器的特殊電話機，這樣那位嗓音嘶啞低弱的員工就能繼續正常接電話了。 ????大多數公司的政策遵循聯邦法律和規定，其中包括《美國殘疾人法案》（Americans with Disabilities Act）規定的相關措施。2009年1月1日，《美國殘疾人法案》將癌癥納入保障范圍。數年后，公平就業機會委員會（EEOC）針對這項調整發布了指導方針。 ????員工人數超過50名的公司被要求讓罹患癌癥的員工休家庭與醫療假。根據《家庭與醫療假法案》（FMLA）的規定，員工有權休12周的無薪假期，用于照顧孩子、配偶或他們自己。雇主則被要求繼續為員工繳納健康保險，同時為這些員工保留一個類似的工作崗位。 ????癌癥與職業組織的人發現，越來越多的雇主尋求在員工診斷和治療癌癥的過程中提供幫助。斯維尼呼吁公司變通一些，允許接受化療和放療的員工在家里工作。一些公司正在打造“共享假期池”，這樣有額外假期的員工就能將自己的休假時間捐贈給正在對抗癌癥或其他嚴重疾病的同事。 ????雇主希望留住經驗豐富的員工，如此一來，根據人力資源管理協會（Society of Human Resource Management）提供的數據，美國國內擁有癌癥保險政策的公司比例已經微升至34%（2008年時的數字是28%）。 ????獨立研究機構綜合福利研究所（Integrated Benefist Institute）的總裁湯姆?帕里說：“這些員工很寶貴，”而雇主常常希望找到辦法讓他們回到工作崗位。其他員工會密切關注雇主對待患病員工的態度，帕里說，“如果雇主正確對待罹患癌癥的員工，它傳遞的是一個非常重要的訊息”，可以跟許多員工產生共鳴。（財富中文網） ????譯者：王燦均 |
????Still, not everyone is comfortable discussing illness at the office. Spence told of a client of hers who was a hard-working senior manager at an agricultural company. One day, she left packages for Spence and a few others before leaving for what her colleagues thought was a week's vacation. She checked into hospice and died three days later. "I was in shock when I found out. I had no idea she was sick," Spence said. ????Spence thinks employers fall into two main categories: those that follow sick leave or disability policy and laws rigidly and those that treat workers like individuals and work with them during their treatment. Many of the decisions are made one-by-one based on the employee's experience, value, and prognosis. ????"It's very personal. If an employer really likes the employee, that's when they tend to be more flexible or more sympathetic," said Kate Brown, director of support and advocacy at Lungevity, a lung cancer support nonprofit. ????Lungevity's Brown says that some workplaces organize "meal trains" where different people deliver a meal each week to a colleague with cancer. Another, she says, bought a special telephone with speakers so a worker whose voice was hoarse and dim could continue to field calls. ????Most corporate policies are based on federal laws and requirements, including accommodations mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Cancer was added to the list of illnesses covered by the ADA on Jan. 1, 2009, and the EEOC issued guidelines for it a couple of years later. ????Businesses with more than 50 workers are required to give Family and Medical Leave to employees who have cancer. Under the FMLA, workers are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for a child, spouse, or themselves. The employer is expected to continue health insurance and hold a comparable job open for these employees. ????At Cancer and Careers, the staff is starting to hear more from employers looking to help workers through their cancer diagnosis and treatment. Sweeney urges firms to be flexible and to allow staff to work at home during chemotherapy or radiation. Some companies are creating "shared vacation pools" so that workers with extra days can donate them to colleagues battling cancer or other serious illnesses. ????Employers want to hang onto experienced staff, so the percentage of U.S. firms that offer cancer insurance policies has inched up to 34% (from 28% in 2008), according to the Society of Human Resource Management. ????"These employees are valuable," and employers often want to find ways to bring them back to work, said Tom Parry, president of the Integrated Benefits Institute, an independent research organization. Other workers are watching carefully how the employer treats them. "When employers do the right thing with someone with cancer, that is a very important message" that resonates with many workers, he said. |
