James thought of it as taking inventory — lying motionless in the dark so as not to trigger an episode. His first few waking moments were spent trying to assess how much pain there would be today. Another sick day would be a problem, but so would working through another day with debilitating pain.
When Someone on Your Team Has Chronic Pain
Up to 40% of Americans experience chronic pain — and that number will continue to increase.
July 19, 2021
HBR Staff/Sidney Morgan/Stocksy/muuraa/Getty Images
Summary.
Do you know if your employees experience chronic pain? And if you did, would you know how to help? While chronic pain is increasingly becoming common among American workers, a recent survey of CEOs demonstrates that, while leaders recognize it’s an issue, few know how to discuss the topic with employees — let alone help. To start, they should be ready to support employees by listening, but not by pressuring them to reveal health details. Second, they can focus their organization on preventing work-related pain. Third, they can design jobs with both autonomy and skill variety in mind. Fourth, they can allow flexible work. Finally, they can increase chronic pain management resources in their company.