In the first part of this two part article on all of the ins and outs of working with, or in spite of a food intolerance, I covered the social angles, including how it is similar of different to other social situations where you might feel compelled to “out” yourself regarding your food intolerance. You can find that article here. In this Second part, I will be covering the broader context of how to survive work with a food intolerance such as gluten intolerance or dairy intolerance. I will cover a the proactive step that you can take to make your work environment more workable or more bearable, and alternative options if ‘plan a’ fails. This article will look at both employment situations broadly, as well as handling some of the symptoms and realities of that comes with serious food intolerance.
The number one purpose of this article is to help you avoid unemployment that stems from difficulty adjusting to life with a food intolerance. More than that, though, this article is also about finding ways to make your career work better for you while minimizing the interruption and negative effects of the symptoms of your condition. There are a range of issues many of us face such as anxiety, shame, fear, as well as all of the physical symptoms. Sometimes the worst course of action is to simply act as though you can go about your daily work life with no changes or personal recognition of your condition. Doing that will often lead to fear and poor planning, then anxiety and shame, when you encounter serious symptoms and difficult work situations.
The first roadblocks for me are fear and anxiety. Much of these stressful emotions stem from feeling as though you are not fully in control of the outcome of your day, and the behaviour of your body. Obviously, one essential part of minimizing these emotions is to be vigilant in seeking to reclaim wellness and eliminate symptoms. I know that that is rarely a smooth and level upward march. Let me also note that anxiety here can really mean two separate conditions. Anxiety may relate to your concern over your ability to handle the day or work tasks, as well as embarrassing situations such as bloating, gas, and stomach gurgling in the presence of your co-workers. On the other hand, anxiety can also manifest as a symptom of food intolerances such as gluten intolerance as part of a range of cognitive symptoms that can make optimal functioning at work quite difficult. For the gluten intolerant individual, it may not always be easy to determine which of these two categories the anxiety stems from, particularly since they may overlap or feed into one another.
The fear and non-symptomatic anxiety stems a lot from feelings of helplessness or uncertainly over the outcome situations, for example. This may be worsened if your work environment is quite poorly suited to your needs and condition. If you suffer from severe bloating and gas every day, but work in a crowed office full of closely packed desks, this would naturally cause anxiety. It will also make the entire work experience far less fulfilling. Again, the ultimate aim is to mitigate or eliminate all of the serious symptoms, but I understand it is not so easy as that since it took me close to five years of concerted vigilant effort before my symptoms were alleviated to the point where I no longer experienced any serious anxiety or fear about work environments. Prior to that I was either afraid about my ability to work at all, or else convinced I needed a flexible job that allowed me to escape as needed if my symptoms became overwhelming.
In the previous part of this employment series (find it here) I covered whether or not you should fully disclose your condition to your co-workers, and how to get out of the endless cycle of explanations. One person (or group of people) that you may have to have a frank discussion with regarding your condition is your boss. This conversation needs to happen more urgently the more acute or severe your conditions are that create the fear and anxiety for you. Naturally, the thought of doing this will often create anxiety on its own, but that is part of life and this article is not about curing anxiety but dealing with the effects of food intolerance at work. Sorry to lay the tough love on you like that. The biggest obstacle after the anxiety is the shame. The shame can come from embarrassing situations at work, or from concerns over disclosing your condition to others and feeling that they will respect you less or see your differently as ‘diseased’ and less able or less worthy perhaps. This is a part of the reason why you really do not have to always disclose everything to your co-workers about your food intolerance. It does not affect them in the least. The bigger picture is that most of the people who find out will not know enough about what you are even talking about to make any negative judgement about you. Think about that for a moment.
The reason why the talk with your management may be necessary and unavoidable is because you want to do everything you can to protect your job. You do not want sick days to be mistaken for hangovers or being irresponsible. The same is true for days when you show up with stomach cramps. You want your boss to think you are a trooper, not a flake. The additional benefit of this conversation, which I see as the more important part is that this discussion frequently forces people to evaluate their work environment. I hate to cause a fuss and I think many others who suffer from food intolerance are the same. We desperately want to be seen as normal and able. How do you know that there are not accommodations that would not make your life easier. Something as simple as a different desk space or as major as switching your job (or part of it) to a telecommuting role. How do you know that you would not be twice as productive in the comfort of your own home? I know that I am!
Ultimately, planning and evaluating your work situation, including speaking with your boss about your food intolerance may mean that you have a new perspective on what is going to be most fulfilling for you. You may end up with a more flexible job role or a the ability to telecommute. Small changes may make big differences, too. You may find that you start re-evaluating what you what and where you are if your boss seems indifferent. You will rarely lose in any of the scenarios I covered in this article. You will usually end up with a more comfortable and fulfilling work situation, perhaps a clearer perspective, and less fear and anxiety about what should be painless day to day affairs.
