Well, that’s how I interpret the linked article, anyway.
I acknowledge that I haven’t read the study itself, and the newspaper article might be misrepresenting that study. However, I find some of the direct quotes from Dr Simmons somewhat, well, problematic.
Let’s take a look.
The study apparently says that many people with MS put off telling their bosses (and so receiving appropriate accommodations at work, which might help them to manage their MS) because they are afraid they will be discriminated against.
Dr Simmons says that fear is unfounded, because “only 15 per cent of people [left] their jobs because they were sacked”.
I assume this means that that’s 15% of people leaving their jobs, and not 15% of people who told their bosses they had MS. If it’s the latter, that’s actually a significant amount of discrimination – about 1 in 6! But even if it’s the former, that seems to me to be fairly significant. It may be that not many people are getting sacked because of their MS, but it does tend to support the idea that it is a realistic possibility that you will be sacked if you tell your boss you have MS. In other words: the fear of discrimination (eventuating in unemployment) is hardly unfounded!
Secondly, I have some news for Dr Simmons. Being sacked is not the only form of discrimination. A person who knows their work environment well might have quite justifiable fears about other types of discrimination if they disclose their MS. It’s not sufficient to make a blanket statement that not many people get sacked because they have MS, therefore there is no need to fear discrimination – before you can say that you shouldn’t fear discrimination, you need to look at the situation more generally.
There’s also a bit of person-who-has-MS-blaming, too. Dr Simmons blames the people with MS for not managing their symptoms properly by not telling their bosses and hence not getting appropriate accommodations. Seems to me that employers are really the ones in the position of power here. If employers put appropriate policies in place, and if those employers were seen to follow those policies, so that employees could trust their employers, then maybe there would be a supportive atmosphere in which an employee could naturally feel comfortable disclosing to their employer that they had MS. Without that sort of thing happening in places of employment on a regular basis, you can hardly blame employees who happen to have MS for feeling that they might, just might, be discriminated against.
Finally, what amandaw said: disclosure can be problematic, and once you’ve disclosed, there’s no taking it back. (She said a lot more than that, and a lot better than I could, so go and read it!)
In the circumstances, it’s not really a surprise that a person with MS might put off disclosing it!
Cross-posted at Hoyden About Town
The argument that “you’re not being discriminated against because of your MS unless you actually get fired” reminds me of the way so many people seem to believe that “it’s not racism unless somebody’s lighting a cross on fire on your lawn”. People seem downright eager to defend anything less extreme than painting a swastika, torching a cross, or hanging a noose as “that’s not really racism!” Similarly, unless someone loses their job or their home because of how people react to their disability, well, that’s not REALLY ableism.
Yeah, I agree it’s the same reaction.
My guess is because most people are apathetic by default, and if something (a) doesn’t affect them and (b) doesn’t seem “that bad”, they “don’t have to do anything about it”, which fits well with the default position.
Screw that!
(See also: “well why do you care if he’s staring at your boobs? he’s just looking, he’s not actually hurting you.” I also think the standard “it’s just a joke, why do you care so much?” fits in with this, in part. I’m sure we could sit around all day and come up with other examples. Unfortunately.)
Grrr.
[...] Discrimination is only discrimination if you end up being sacked (Wallaby) “It may be that not many people are getting sacked because of their MS, but it does tend to support the idea that it is a realistic possibility that you will be sacked if you tell your boss you have MS. In other words: the fear of discrimination (eventuating in unemployment) is hardly unfounded!” [...]