Working with chronic illness: the modes of working

Abstract

The ways that individuals manage their behaviours in the workplace have received increasing amounts of attention since Hochschild’s initial work on emotional labour. Since that time, aesthetic labour has been explored and varying forms of emotional labour or emotion work have been researched. Progressing this area of research into the working circumstances of individuals with chronic illness has unearthed three new modes of working which are based on similar principles to emotion work and aesthetic labour. These are called adaptive work, asymptomatic work and symptomatic work. Working with chronic illness is a unique experience and requires the use of skills beyond those normally utilised in the deployment of emotion/work or aesthetic labour. This paper will discuss on adaptive work, asymptomatic work and symptomatic work and relate them to the workforce experiences of women with chronic illness.

Keywords:

• chronic illness
• health
• adaptive work
• asymptomatic work
• symptomatic work

Acknowledgement

Thanks go to David Peetz and Kaye Broadbent for their assistance with this study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shalene Werth

Shalene Werth is a lecturer in employment relations at USQ, whose PhD study was on the topic of the workforce outcomes of women with chronic illness at Griffith University. Her research interests include the impost chronic illness has on the lives of sufferers and the ways collective action can improve outcomes for both workers and students. The ways employers accommodate chronic illness with specific focus on gender and related industrial relations theory are also of interest.