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Work plays a big part in our lives and can sometimes be quite stressful as it is – you don’t want to add to that by worrying about how you can manage your skin condition.
One way to avoid this unnecessary stress is to talk to the people you work with to help them understand your condition and maybe even motivate them to see if they can provide help and support – here are our top tips for talking to your colleagues or employer.
The support you need will be personal to you, so think about what you want to discuss and what you would like the outcome of your conversation to be. Below are some topics that you may want to discuss:
| Dilemma | Discussion |
| Stressful day | This may leave you needing to share how you feel with someone. Perhaps find someone you are close to at work and ask for their support |
| Treatment | If your skin condition means you need to apply creams or medications, you may want to speak to your employer about identifying a place where you can comfortably do this in private |
| Office environment | Sometimes skin conditions can get worse in dry air or heat. If this happens to you, try discussing possible adjustments to the office environment e.g. a humidifier or sitting away from radiators |
| Unpredictable flare-up | Flare-ups can be unpredictable and vary in severity, so perhaps you want to discuss the feasibility of flexitime or working from home on days that you have a bad flare-up? |
| Doctor’s appointment | You may want to discuss your company’s policy on healthcare appointments, i.e. flexitime |
| Uncomfortable uniform | If you have to wear a uniform that is aggravating your skin, there may be some allowances or adjustments that can be made |
Whatever you want to gain from the conversation, talking to the people you work with can give them a better understanding of your condition.
This will depend on what you want to discuss. If you just need to vent, find one of your work friends that you’re close to, they’ll understand! If you would like to make your team aware of your condition arrange a time for a chat with them. Or, if you want to talk to your employer about changes you require to your office environment, working hours or work attire, a more formal approach might be better – consider arranging a meeting with or setting up an appointment with your manager.
Think about what you want to say and make a list of the points you want to communicate, this way you will remember to cover everything. It may also help to find information on your skin condition that you can share during the conversation – there are some informative articles about chronic spontaneous urticaria and psoriasis in other sections of this website.
It is likely that whoever you talk to will have some questions – these may cover a range of subjects. If you can’t answer the questions straight away, you could always arrange another meeting. However, you may be able to answer the majority of them straight away, especially if you spend a little time considering them beforehand. To help you out there’s a list of possible questions below:
For more tips on how to improve your work environment, take a look at our new infographic coming soon. If you have spoken to your employer or colleagues about your skin condition, why not share your experience on our psoriasis or chronic spontaneous urticaria Facebook pages and pass on any useful tips to the rest of the Skin to live in community. Good luck and let us know how you get on!
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