Almost two years ago, my friends from the College Diabetes Network asked me to discuss diabetes in the workplace at their annual student retreat. The prospect of bringing diabetes into a new career and encountering new sets of challenges can seem daunting, so I was happy to talk about my positive experiences thus far as a young adult who has already made the transition from college to “the real world”.
Diabetes in the workplace – how do I navigate it? Here’s a little snippet in which I explain how I’ve decided to disclose my diabetes with my coworkers:
Hugging the Cactus 
I have come to dread telling people but I do reveal it fairly quickly as it does not bode well to have a reaction while at work and no one knows what is going on. The reason I dread it is the sometimes subtle change in attitude toward me, other times not so subtle. I feel as though they then see me as fragile. “Oh you can’t do that because your a diabetic.” or just not say anything but give me less challenging tasks. No only do I notice but co-workers notice and that leads to resentment. I can do anything (within reason) that a norm (normal non-diabetic person) can do. I may need to bend the rules to eat if I go low but I can work just as hard as the others, sometimes harder. I hate being labeled as a wuss or inferior so this issue gets under my skin very fast and easily. In my current work place everyone knows and quickly realize I am just as capable at keeping up as they can. I’m guessing this also pushes me to be a more fierce competitor in everything, work or play.
LikeLike