Returning to work after cancer: the growing role of HR in employee support

Blog posts

21 Nov 2024

Dr Zofia Bajorek, Senior Research Fellow 

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When the Princess of Wales shared her cancer diagnosis earlier this year, her statement discussed the value of work for her wellbeing, describing how work provides her with a deep sense of joy, and that she was looking forward to returning to work when she was able. Since that time there has been a focus on both His Majesty’s and the Princess’ of Wales official duties as they navigate a return to work following cancer treatment.

They are not alone in this scenario, of course. The statistic that one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime is sobering, thankfully with improved diagnosis and treatment, there has also been an increase in cancer survivorship. However, with retirement rates increasing, alongside the cancer rates in the younger population also rising, there is a greater likelihood that more individuals of working age will be affected, and working with cancer will be more common in workplaces of the future. A recent report by Reframe Cancer found that approximately 160,000 new cancer diagnoses are for people of working age, so if organisations are not thinking about how to best manage this, they should be.

Previous research by IES and Working With Cancer reported that the proportion of people living with cancer who return successfully to work remains disappointingly low. There can be a number of factors contributing to this, including:

• Clinical barriers: these are dependent on the nature of an employee's cancer and treatment side effects.
• Psychological barriers: these involve concerns and anxieties about returning to work, which can be further exacerbated if the workplace is perceived to be unsupportive or inflexible.
• Organisational barriers: with HR and occupational health professionals not doing enough to raise awareness of the obligation to offer reasonable adjustments, a phased return to work and knowledge of wider employment rights.

Our IES colleague and Working With Cancer ambassador Stephen Bevan said of his own return to work:

“I have been remarkably lucky. My employer has been textbook in how you would like a return-to-work to be. I have learnt a lot about the challenges that others less fortunate have had with employers that are less understanding. So, I feel very privileged that my employer has been brilliantly supportive.”

Steve spent much of his research career aiming to make work better, and he would have hoped that others living with cancer would have the same positive return-to-work and ability to thrive at work that he had. This is why IES and Working With Cancer collaborated once again to survey HR Managers about their return to work practices and how to improve employer support for those working with cancer in ‘The Bevan Report’.

Through surveying over 200 HR Managers and through four in-depth case studies (with HR Managers, line managers and employees living with cancer), the research highlighted a number of key areas that employers can focus on to help those working with cancer return to and thrive in work.

Firstly, although HR Managers recognised they had a wide range of organisational policies to support employees, current policies and practices are not doing enough to prepare for, or support colleagues living with cancer. Policies tend to focus on meeting an employers’ legal obligations, however there is scope for policies to cater for more specific difficulties and concerns that employees working with cancer can experience. With only 45% of HR Managers reporting they needed a specific cancer policy, the results indicated an absence of a strategic approach to managing employees with cancer which could lead to inconsistencies in support.

Secondly, you can’t change what you don’t know. The survey found that only 18% of HR Managers collected data on who has or has previously had a cancer diagnosis. This could indicate that employers may take a more reactive approach on a case-by-case basis to managing cancer at work, rather than having an effective plan and systems in place that could be implemented in a timely manner.

Thirdly, results suggested that organisations should review how far the employee benefits they offer support those with cancer (and other long-term health conditions). Common benefits offered to employees working with cancer included the opportunity to work flexibly, access to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) and (in larger organisations) referrals to Occupational Health. However, benefits that could be more effective for helping employees working with cancer returning to and remaining in work such as access to health-related coaching and vocational rehabilitation were rarely offered. These provide employees with tailored advice and the potential for on-going discussion and consultation that also include considerations such as job design, job role and work patterns.

Finally, the research highlighted that HR Managers had concerns about line manager capability and capacity to manage cancer at work, yet few organisations provided line manager training or coaching to improve line managerial skills (only 11% provided training). Specific perceived capability gaps included the ability of managers to have difficult conversations and concerns about line managers saying the wrong things.  However, even when HR managers felt their line managers were adequately skilled there were still concerns about their limited availability, and their capacity to provide the appropriate support required.

Work can be a financial necessity, provide an element of normality and be of great therapeutic benefit for employees working with cancer as they navigate their post cancer diagnosis journey. The barriers identified through this research suggest that HR Managers and organisations still have work to do to help employees working with cancer return to and thrive at work, and now is the time to do it.

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Any views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Institute as a whole.