Diabetes at work
Many people spend a good proportion of their time at work; some days we may spend more time with work colleagues than we do with our partners!
Work situations can feel challenging in terms of deciding whether or not to let your colleagues know about your diabetes, your diabetes-management needs, or when and how much to share.
The different relationships you hold at work can add in another element to consider. For example there may be more to balance in sharing something personal with people you manage, or a boss you are trying to impress.
Every work environment and colleague will be different, just the same as every person living with diabetes is an individual with their own particular needs and wishes. You may be fairly close and trusting of some colleagues, and less connected and purely “professional” with others. It’s important that you feel you have choice over what personal information you decide to share about yourself.
Go to ‘Diabetes and your relationship with others’ to return to the main topic page, or choose another section.
Im ok with this – I work by myself
I am a manager in a before and after school care, I don’t and won’t hide my diabetes from colleagues or the children I work with, instead if the children see me check my glucose they are very interested in what I am doing and why, so I explain to them what I am doing, its teaching them life skills and not everyone is the same, this often leads to in depth conversations about type 1 Diabetes. My work colleagues need to know in case I fall ill, I even have a care plan should any new staff start, just like they need to know the children’s needs they need to know mine too.