Remote work is the great equalizer for people with invisible illnesses

Google and Meta are among the latest large employers to reverse course on remote work, now asking employees to come in at least part time. 

By now, most of us are familiar with the justifications these companies put forth when instituting in-person work requirements: the collaboration made possible by consistent in-person work allows for better collaboration, helps junior staff to learn and grow from watching more experienced coworkers and creates spontaneous run-ins that can spark creativity. 

While many of these points have merit, these explanations often ignore a key part of the population who stands to benefit the most from remote work: employees with invisible illnesses. 

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More than half of all U.S. adults have at least one chronic condition, and of those people more than 95% don't exhibit visible symptoms or effects. On top of that, more than 1 in 4 are considered disabled, with most of their disabilities being invisible. Even though these conditions may not be obvious to others, it can be very difficult to manage a chronic disease while also remaining productive at work, particularly when confined to traditional work hours and a typical office environment. 

Many employees with invisible illnesses never discuss their diseases with their employers. Since they don't present visible symptoms, they face a stigma that the challenges they encounter are less legitimate or severe. The result is that they don't feel empowered to speak up, and thus don't get the accommodations that could help make them productive and successful. 

Cut to 2020, and the monumental shift in office jobs that was remote work. Remote work made it so that employees with invisible illnesses could reap the benefits of proper accommodations without exposing themselves to the stigmatization that may come with revealing their illness to their managers. 

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Those benefits are numerous, and incredibly significant in helping employees be healthier and perform at their job.

For one, the flexibility to take breaks and control one's own schedule without judgment, whether that be to manage the acute onset of symptoms during an attack or to call a doctor, comes much more readily when working at home. For people with neurological conditions, like migraine, working at home allows for better control over the work environment, and the ability to avoid triggers like harsh lighting or scents which can prompt or exacerbate an attack. Plus, working at home reduces the risk of contracting other illnesses, like COVID, which can seriously complicate existing chronic diseases. 

In short, asking people with invisible illnesses to return to the office can remove the flexibility and control that comes with working at home and is so critical to maintaining both well-being and productivity. That doesn't mean employers should never ask people to come back to the office. But it does mean that when they do, they should do so with sensitivity to the needs of those with invisible illnesses, since it's very likely they make up an important part of their workforce.

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That means maintaining a degree of flexibility that allows people to continue to work from home when they need to, and allows them to take breaks to manage their illness regardless of where they are working. 

It means accommodating requests regarding issues like lighting, scent control and temperature, all of which can trigger attacks for people with conditions like migraine. It means creating a space, like a rest or wellness room, which people can escape to during the day to get away from sensory triggers. And it means having policies on masking, distancing, and staying home when sick designed to prevent the spread of COVID and other infectious diseases.

Managers making decisions about mandating returns to in-office work have an abundance of factors to consider, but the health and well-being of their workforce should be top of mind. It's just the right way to do business, but it also helps the bottom line, since a healthy workforce is a more productive one.