How Does Diabetes Affect An Employee At Work?

It is estimated that around 5.8million people in the UK are living with diabetes, but nearly 1.3million of those are undiagnosed, and some may not even be aware they have type 2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes. If left untreated or undiagnosed, diabetes can have significant health impacts and employers have a role to play in helping employees who have the condition and raising awareness for those who may not realise they have the condition. November was Diabetes Awareness Month, and November 14^th was World Diabetes Day, so on the back of that we felt it was a good time to provide guidance for employers on how they can support their employees.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic condition whereby the body’s blood glucose level is too high, usually caused by the body not producing sufficient amounts of a hormone called insulin, or the insulin produced isn’t effective. When you can’t produce any insulin at all, this is known as type 1 diabetes, which is not too common and accounts for roughly 8% of cases in the UK. If the insulin your body produces isn’t effective or you can’t produce enough of it, this is known as type 2 diabetes, which accounts for around 90%. There are other much rarer types of diabetes which account for the other 2%.

Although the symptoms differ slightly according to what type of diabetes you have, the most common symptoms attributed to type 2 diabetes include excessive thirst, frequent urination and particularly at night, extreme tiredness, blurred vision and losing weight without trying to.

How diabetes can affect an employee at work

Best practice is for an employer to talk directly to an employee on how a diabetes diagnosis might be affecting them, because every individual can react differently. It is also true that most employees will be able to control their diabetes effectively and enjoy a relatively normal lifestyle and work routine. But generally speaking, employees could be experiencing:

• Problems with fatigue and concentration – Fluctuating blood sugar levels can cause tiredness and make it difficult to focus. This could impact on an employee’s productivity.
• Vision impairment – Some people with diabetes suffer from hypoglycaemia, which can heavily impact on the ability to perform certain duties in the workplace, such as driving or operating machinery and equipment.
• Mental health impacts – It is common for diabetes to impact on an employee’s psychological state and their overall wellness, particularly if they are struggling to adjust to a recent diagnosis. Regular medication, changes to lifestyle and frequent medical appointments can cause stress and anxiety. This can also cause blood glucose levels to rise, meaning medication needs to be taken more frequently.

How an employer should manage someone with diabetes

In general terms there is a good chance that an employee’s ability to perform their normal duties will not be affected by a diabetes diagnosis, but the employer has a duty to talk to the employee and treat them as an individual in order to establish this, and to discuss possible changes which could be accommodated into the daily work routine.

• Reasonable adjustments – An employer should make reasonable adjustments to the daily routine and expectations of the employee. This could mean allowing for an acceptable drop in productivity, even if this is only a short-term thing. The employer should also provide time and break opportunities for the employee to administer medication at work and to monitor blood sugar levels, and to attend medical appointments. This could be accommodated into a new shift pattern perhaps.
• Awareness and support – The employer should provide resources to support the employee’s knowledge of diabetes and how it can be managed. Additionally, they should make line managers and colleagues aware of the condition, its symptoms and how they can support the employee. They should also be made aware of the reasonable adjustments that have been agreed with the employee.
• Introduce diabetes screening into employee health checks – A programme of dedicated blood tests can help to diagnose diabetes for people who may not be aware they have it.

The importance of diabetes screening at work

It is possible to have a form of diabetes and not show any noticeable symptoms. But a raised blood sugar level can impact on energy, focus and long-term health, so it is important that employers recognise the possible impact on their workforce and introduce diabetes into routine workplace health checks. HbA1c is a type of blood test used to identify diabetes in an adult with a very fast finger prick blood test. This can help to detect diabetes early and therefore can help the employee to prevent health complications, and they can also start to make adjustments to their lifestyle and work-life.

Diabetes screening helps the employer by reducing absenteeism and producing a healthier and more engaged workforce with better levels of energy and morale. It will also lower the stress and anxiety levels of the workforce and create a more positive culture generally. Early detection of diabetes can be critical and ultimately helps the employer manage their workforce as well as providing vital health awareness for the employee. If you want to start diabetes screening as part of your workplace health checks, contact our professional team at HealthClinic2You.