
Chronic ills like heart disease, asthma or diabetes afflict a majority of U.S. workers, but 60% of those affected say they’ve kept their health issue a secret from employers, a new poll finds. More than a third of workers battling chronic conditions also said they’d skipped a necessary medical appointment over the past year for reasons related to work. “Workers commonly feel stigmatized by their conditions, and this can have a profound effect on both their work and their health,” survey lead author Gillian SteelFisher concluded. She directs the Harvard Opinion Research Program and is a principal research scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The new poll was conducted in early October of last year. It included a nationally representative sampling of 1,010 part-time and full-time working adults, all of whom were part of organizations with 50 or more employees. A majority of those polled — 58% — said they had at least one form of chronic health condition, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes or asthma. Among this group, 76% said they needed to find the time and resources to manage their health issue during working hours, but 60% said they had never informed their boss that they had a chronic health condition. “Though employers may think they know their employees’ needs, poll results suggest there are widespread and… read on > read on >