Irritable Bowel Syndrom – How To Tell Your Boss About It

Each irritable bowel syndrom sufferer who needs to approach his or her boss about the chronic condition known as irritable bowel syndrom most likely has little hope of getting advice from a co-worker, unless he or she has found a co-worker with irritable bowel syndrom.

The idea of meeting with the boss can be frightening in the absence of such support. Take heart in the knowledge that it can also be enlightening for both parties.

An Example

Here is an example of how both boss and employee can be more enlightened by talking about a GI problem. In January of 1974 a young female was bothered by persistent diarrhea.

She thought that she would talk with the most knowledgeable resident MD, her boss before taking off from her job to see a doctor. So one afternoon she related to him her symptoms.

Now this woman did not have IBS, but by sharing her GI problems with her boss she discovered that they shared an interest in her health. In assessing the probable causes for her diarrhea, this woman’s boss asked about her menstrual history.

She revealed that she had long had amenorrhea, and the condition had not yet been corrected. Because her boss led a group of scientists who studied reproductive biology, the woman’s admission intrigued her boss.

He arranged for the woman to have weekly visits with the clinician, who communicated his findings to the researchers. Diarrhea disappeared soon, and about one year later the same woman could show obvious signs of delayed reproductive development.

In this case, a boss, who was a physician, recognized the uncertainties that perplex many patients, and he understood how those uncertainties could affect work performance.

Thus an employee can recall the above incident, when he or she approaches a boss to announce that he or she has irritable bowel syndrom.

About Irritable Bowel Syndrom Treatment

The employee should have the talk in the boss’s office focus on the employee’s work performance. The employee must show how medication or therapy, or both, are going to help him in treating the irritable bowel syndrom symptoms.

Dedicaton

The employee must show that due to the need for irritable bowel syndrom treatment, his or her dedication to the job will not suffer. The employee must make clear his or her determination to deliver the desired job performance.

The employee should think about what sort of thing would most impress the boss in order to achieve this task. Boss should be shown how living with irritable bowel syndrom makes a person more flexible, if the boss likes flexible employees.

If the boss wants employees who show tolerance for others, then the irritable bowel syndrom sufferer should emphasize his or her appreciation for the plight of others. The condition known as IBS can also cause an individual to become more caring, more considerate, more patient, more self-disciplined and more truthful.

Each of those is an admirable characteristic. An increase in any or those qualities would lead to creation of an employee willing to deliver an optimal job performance. The irritable bowel syndrom sufferer should convince his or her boss of that fact.