Vocational rehabilitation might not have received a mention in the National Cancer Plan for England (indeed, the role of work and employers barely received a passing mention), but it’s central to Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working goals.
In our view, this makes it de facto central to the ‘living well’ after cancer goals laid out in the national plan. After all, living well involves, amongst other things, having a sense of identity, structure and purpose. And work can afford all that. That’s why helping ensure meaningful work remains possible for people, whatever their condition, is the raison d’etre of vocational rehabilitation.
The trouble is, now that vocational rehab is enjoying its well-deserved time in the spotlight, there’s a risk of it being misconstrued, especially as big tech providers begin to eye up the possibilities.
Tech-only solutions risk ‘watering down’ these services. This is arguably what happened with employee engagement. What started out as an extensively evidenced focus on creating the conditions for organisational commitment, identification and work motivation (through day-to-day, people -o-people behaviours) became whittled down to an annual tech-based survey and an action plan. This was then followed by cries of ‘why aren’t we seeing behaviour change….’
Technology and AI can certainly help vocational rehab achieve its goals, but only when human-to-human, personalised support remains at the centre.
Below we look at what this looks like in practice when it comes to supporting those living and working with cancer.
It’s all about the grey areas
You’re sick, you’re well, you’re in work, you’re not in work. For those with a cancer diagnosis, life is never black and white. Cancer tends to come with an inordinate number of grey areas. And that’s where vocational rehab sits: in these areas. This is where we can demonstrate our value though, when it comes to providing both support and solutions. We’re good at working with this ‘greyness’, holding the individual’s hand, being comfortable with trial and error, learning as we go, because no experience of cancer is the same.
This is about helping people normalise their life, work and emotions and, ultimately, preventing that feeling of ‘falling off a cliff’ that so many individuals describe after treatment ends.
Vocational rehab is not just about post-treatment support though. What we offer is a joined-up piece focused on the whole individual: work, health, physical, emotional, social. And it should ideally feature at the beginning.
For example, at the cancer diagnosis and treatment stages, it’s unlikely that the psychosocial impact on an individual is being considered, let alone on work.
Dr Anuska Randolph-Stephens, chartered health psychologist and clinical rirector at Working To Wellbeing, speaking on a recent Working To Wellbeing podcast explains that individual are still employees, despite getting this diagnosis. As she points out: “After calling your nearest and dearest, the next person you’re likely to speak with is your employer.”
As a result vocational rehab tends to ask: ‘have you considered work?’ from the start. Even if it’s not always in the spotlight, it should always be there on the table. She says: “We need to lose this assumption as a society that work isn’t good for you.”
Getting under the bonnet matters
With this rehab, health psychologists will ask people questions such as: how ‘well’ are you; what does normality look and feel like for you. Everyone’s experience is different, so what’s crucial to tailor the range of support and expertise as a team to every individual.
With rehab we aim to understand, align, not make assumptions, or medicalise normal emotions, such as anxiety during cancer treatment . And we aim to help people get to grips with the difference between barriers (solid, immovable things) and obstacles (things that can be worked around). All of this can only be achieved through speaking with people about their views and feelings.
We’re also involved in educating those around the person we’re supporting, such as HR and line managers, managing expectations and ensuring effective communication.
To help illustrate why this is so important, one of the people referred to us, a lady with a cancer diagnosis, was really struggling to return to work in any sustainable way and having issues with anxiety. She kept going through boom and bust cycles; returning then having to take time off again.
Through discussions with her, we learnt that one of her colleagues at work had previously had breast cancer and was able to work all the way through her treatment. Because of this, she felt she had to get back to work as quickly as possible, worrying about how she was going to be perceived by her employer. It became very clear she wasn’t ready. So, we put a plan in place to help ensure a much more gradual and sustainable return, with appropriate support, while managing her employer’s expectations along the way.
In short, person to person matters. It’s not that tech doesn’t work. It has a place. It’s about the fact that it takes a human to unpick complex human matters; like the gaps and silences in conversation where nothing’s said, but everything’s said. And the experience of a cancer diagnosis represents a perfect example of why all this is so important to people, work and society.