Question to People: How would you communicate things with the boss to make things better when they aren't the best?
Lows, Highs, Pump issues, Fainting...
There is the fear that being open with your diabetes or something always people to say, hey your an insurance risk. Hey, it's nerve racking when interviewing. You need a good health insurance but why would they hirer someone who's a high cost.
But this idea is from the gal who has fainting issues. How would you tell communicate about your personal problems as well as the who diabetes thing. Something could happen at a place you're at 40hrs a week. Well, lets mable...
I am very open about the diabetes and if the boss doesn't like it... frankly oh well. I am a good worker and make them a lot of money. And if they don't understand I always explain. My boss is a king size jerk. and that is his problem. I always tell them that they have a three fold keeper: Minority, disabled and a veteran.
If your work is solid and you aren't comfortable sharing then don't. My life is an open book... which has it's own set of problems.
Whenever I went on job interviews I never said anything about being a diabetic. I feel like they are interviewing me on who I am not whether or not I am going to hike up a premium. Besides, your employer does not need to know basic medical information in the interview. If you get hired, that is when I would go and have a sit down with whoever works with you that might need to react to a situation. My boss does not really know what to do. In fact, I have told her I am a diabetic but I don't think she remembers. My co-workers are the ones who know what to do if a problem should arise. I also made sure to go over the whole sweet - n - low vs. real sugar thing too, just in case!! Hope this helps.
on the interview itself I never say I am diabetic. I will wait about 2 days on the job, get a feel for it, then tell my boss I am diabetic.
Right now, I am a preschool/daycare teacher. When I started there 3 1/2 years ago I told my boss on the 3rd day. She said they had a kid in one of the classes with type 1 so they were actually relieved I was there to kind of give advice on what to do with her. She was 3 years old at the time. I actually have never really had a boss who didn't at least try to understand. I have worked with some type 2's beofore, and that sometimes helps too. Sometimes doesn't as well beacuse type 2 is treated different then type 1.
also, if you are offered health insurance though your work they can't deny you it because you have a pre-existing condition. The health insurance company can put temperory restrictions on what they will cover for 6mo to a year if you have a gap in coverage (more then 45 day w/out insurance usually), but the actual company of employment can't choose that. I got dropped from my parents insurance last October when I turned 23 and had to pick up my own. Didn't have a lapse in coverage even for a day so they had to take me on fully...im sure they are pained by it =) haha.
I've had issues with bosses in the past. Including my current one. Actually got to the point where I mentioned the Americans With Disabilities act. Your boss is required to make reasonable accomadations for your disease. It's never an easy thing to discuss. But most bosses don't have enough understanding of the disease to be objective. All they know is that they have an employee that misses work or has to take breaks to deal with bs issues. Ignorance is usually the reason. Try having a frank discussion with your boss and explaining how the disease effects you. By the way, you are NOT required to disclose your condition pre-employment. That is also covered under the ADA,
You don't have anything to worry about. First, it's none of their business during the interview. If they are stupid enough to ask, then it's an HR issue. Also, if they are offering you insurance (as long as this isn't a business, usually a small one, that just pays for your own insurance coverage) then you will go into a group policy, and neither the employer or you will pay extra for any preexisting conditions, or any that arise in the future. As for after your hired, if you want to tell your boss, there's no reason you shouldn't. It's important that the people we spend our days with know how to respond to an emergency, so you should at least tell your co-workers. And they don't need to know anything more than you're comfortable telling them. Hopefully you don't have to cite the ADA, because that just means your boss is an ass. Personally, my bosses knew before I was hired because we went to lunch after an interview and I pumped up. It wasn't an issue, and hasn't been since.
I never discuss my health issues with my employers......never do this..... Any interview you bring up diabetes in is doomed to failure, and when your employers start noticing you have health issues it wont be but a few months before you see a serious decrease in your hours or they try to find reasons to terminate you. Sure they say that the american with disabilities act protects us but in reality it doesn't keep employers from discrminating against us. This was my experience when i worked with Home Depot, Walmart and various manual labor jobs i have worked with in the past. Most employers tend to have a built in bias towards anyone with health issues so the only thing your boss really needs to see is a doctors note whenever you have to miss work. They are not entitled to any other information.
I hate to even say this, but Michael is right about Home Depot and Wal-Mart. I worked in retail management for a long time. For a good portion of my career I was involved in the hiring and firing processes. Those companies can use any one of a thousand reasons to not hire or fire employees. There are lots of ways around the law. They would never admit that you werenot hired because of your diabetes, they will claim you don't fit their current needs, or someone else had better qualifications. Both of these reasons would be very difficult to prove because they are so subjective.
It is definitely best to not disclose that information before you are hired. Also, once you do get the job I have found it best to trust in a co-worker to know about your situation rather than the boss. It should not ever be help against you, but just incase it will be, it is better to not even allow it to be an option. Mike is also right about the doctor's notes. Documentation is the key to protecting yorself against being discriminated against.
Diabetes is considered a disability. There is a question that they can ask you "are you are to do this job without any accomodations?" or similar (for you HR people) ... it would be like some in a wheel chair - we all have one, it can't be seen.
My suggestion is that you never say anything about your personal diseases. If during the interview process, you reveal that you have diabetes and you are not hired and you feel that you were not hired because you stated you have diabetes, you could sue them. When hiring someone, I don't like that I am told about someone disease, because then, I have to be certain not to use that information as a bias. I never have, and am sure to never write that information down as a note.
Anyway... what employers want to KNOW about you is "can you do the work required and are you the best fit/person in the pool to join the team", end of story. At some point, you may want to share that you have diabetes and such, but you are measured on performance. I really don't care what a person has so long as they are getting the job done (beiing on time, no missed days, etc) - if your concern is that you will miss days of work because of diabetes, you probally need a more flexible job.
I have found that in my field, senior living food service, having T1 is beneficial and helpful to seniors and in compassion for others with long term diseases. In some cases I have told potential employers that i have daibetes as a "seeling" tool - and it worked. I have never missed a day due to diabetes related issues - but have to a cold, flu, doctor appt., etc - just like other pepole (sp)..
That's fantastic and I am a wee bit jealous, I think... I have always felt compelled to share the information with my peers and employers if only because I am so hypo-unaware. Since I may fall out, I prefer those around me know why... I think I could get away with being a bit quieter about it now that I am on the CGMS but really - it's almost a part of my standard getting to know you banter at this point in my life!