School of Health & Wellbeing

Research Assistant and PhD Student 

How long have you worked at the University of Glasgow and in what role?

I am a Research Assistant and PhD candidate, and have worked at Glasgow University for 5½ years. 

What is your health condition/s and how/does it impact you work and/life?

I have a health condition that limits me physically – I am unable to lift heavy objects or do anything strenuous or that might raise my blood pressure.

How/have you been supported by university policies and/or procedures?

Although I am registered as a disabled student I have not registered as a disabled staff member, however my colleagues are aware of my condition. As a PhD student I have benefitted from the support of the disability services which has been invaluable in reducing stress. 

How have you been supported by colleagues?

In terms of support as a staff member my colleagues help when I need it and my line manager is supportive of me when I need to attend hospital appointments. The informal support from colleagues has helped enormously and normalised my condition. 

I am not aware of any IHW policies that would be relevant. At the moment I don’t feel I need any help beyond the informal help that I get.

Case study-female 40+, married 3 children. Part-time MPA5

How long have you worked at University of Glasgow and in what role(s)?

I have worked in the same research group since 2006, initially as a part-time grade 4 research coordinator. In 2010 I was offered 1 day/week costing grants/managing budgets. With this additional experience, I successfully applied and was promoted in 2011 to a grade 5 research secretary post, 2011. I worked with 2 academics costing and managing research grants and monitoring budgets. As the grant application process became centralised I now do more general administration work primarily for the Learning Disability Team and Mental Health and Wellbeing Teams.

What is your health condition and how does it impact your work and/or life?

In December 2015 I was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, which has no treatment and eventually led to me working from home part-time where my line manager has made reasonable adjustments. I can work more flexible hours due to my condition as I can suffer from extreme fatigue, be susceptible to infections and suffer mobility issues at any time.

How have you been supported by university or IHW policies, procedures, services or guidelines?

I was devastated when told I had a progressive chronic condition and needed time to think it through. I was told about the Counselling Service which the university offers, and I used this service by being allocated a counsellor who lived locally to me making it easier for me attend. When I felt I needed help again, my line manager arranged for me to have some more sessions.

Occupational Health were also very helpful advising me that I could apply for a grant from the Department for Work and Pensions to get a taxi to work when I felt able to and I did this at the beginning which took pressure off me to drive or get public transport which made me very fatigued and sometimes stressed,  exacerbating my symptoms.

I was also helped by the Disability Services who arranged for me to get and have tuition in voice recognition software for when I was struggling to type for a period of time.

How have you been supported by colleagues, and how has this helped with your health and/or your work?

My line-manager and colleagues were extremely sympathetic and supportive. Getting back to work helped take my mind off the diagnosis but as my condition deteriorated I found it more difficult to get to work. My line-manager arranged for me to work from home more permanently as things progressed, installing office equipment at my home, for when I didn’t feel able to go into work. I am very grateful I have had so much support and flexibility from the institute to keep working which is important to me, as it keeps me mentally stimulated and focusing on other things besides the MS.

The university has provided a number of great services while my condition has gradually deteriorated over the years but my work colleagues have helped me to manage my condition and make me still feel valued.

Are you aware of any other university policies, procedures, services or guidelines that could have been relevant? And, if so, why didn’t you access them?

I think I have used all the services that are available to me and my line manager has managed to create a flexible and comfortable working environment at home which has enabled me to carry on working for as long as possible. 

IHW staff member (female, technical and specialist, 50+)

How long have you worked at the University of Glasgow and in what role/s? 

Since 1996, in various administrative and technical roles.

What is your health condition/s and how/does it impact your work and/or life?

I have social anxiety disorder. This can make me very fearful in social situations and busy environments which, if possible, I avoid. As part of my condition (which is more a fear of judgement than of company), I am also afraid of upsetting or letting down others. This leads to my working longer hours and at a greater intensity than is healthy or helpful. Even then, I still worry a great deal about underperforming or falling behind. It is a distressing and exhausting condition which has an impact on every aspect of my life.

How/have you been supported by university policies and/or procedures?

I remember feeling huge relief when UofG’s Dignity at Work and Study Policy was first published, back in 2012. It was – and still is – reassuring reading for anyone who feels that their “differences” might make them vulnerable to harassment or discrimination.

Other UofG initiatives aimed at supporting those in mental distress (Mental Health First Aid training across campus) and encouraging kindness (the “Full stop” anti-bullying campaign) have helped me to feel that this is a safe place to work for someone like me.

The Flexible Working Policy has enabled me to change my working pattern (first of all reducing my hours from 35 to 28 hours per week, and then condensing my hours into 3 days to give me a 4-day rest period). This helps me manage the fatigue that tends to accompany my condition.

As important as anything though has been IHW’s commitment to Athena Swan, and the wider equality, diversity and inclusion agenda. This has slowly but surely transformed our culture. We are now a kinder, fairer environment, I believe, with an increased capacity to accommodate and support a diverse range of staff. Many of our wellbeing and work/life balance initiatives and guidelines – dogs at work (contact with animals really helps!), online meeting etiquette, email etiquette, core meeting hours policy, for example – plus solid support for flexible working and an outcome-focused approach have reduced some sources of anxiety.

How/ have you been supported by colleagues?

I spent many years hiding my condition. I felt ashamed that aspects of working life that seemed to come so easily to others – attending a coffee morning, speaking up at a meeting (or even just attending a meeting), managing small setbacks – could make me unwell.

Once I had disclosed my condition to my manager, however, I was in a position to ask for help. I know now that if a particular task or situation is likely to prompt symptoms, I can explore options and, if applicable, ask for a reasonable adjustment. (In my case, this has included having a screen around my desk and a quiet space to retreat to if the need arises, and I have control over my diary so can avoid overly-hectic days.) I have also felt increasingly able to open up to colleagues. They have been nothing but supportive, and I no longer need worry that turning down an invite to a social occasion will cause offence. They know I have difficult days. They know I will sometimes be in tears over something another person might easily take in their stride. They understand and they do what they can to help.

Are you aware of any other university policies or procedures that could have been relevant? And, if so why didn’t you access them?

I haven't, to date, made use of the Employee Assistance Programme, but certainly would if I thought it might help. It’s good to have a confidential listening service that we can easily access for those days when everything feels impossible.

Please share anything else that you think might be relevant

Our long-term health conditions need not be as disabling as they sometimes become if we “struggle on” and avoid asking for help, perhaps through embarrassment. That day when you decide to disclose to a manager or colleague is almost certainly going to be difficult, even distressing (there were tears!!). But it could also be the day that you start to access the support that will ultimately make working life easier and happier. Reasonable adjustments aren’t only for people with physical disabilities and they can make the world of difference to those of us with long-term mental health conditions. The help is out there and there is no shame in asking for it.

IHW staff member (female, MPA, 50+)

How long have you worked at the University of Glasgow and what role/s?

I have worked for the university since 2006. I have always been in the same role. Only job titles have changed over the years – secretary/PA/admin. I have also now worked for the same professor since 2001 – feel like an old married couple!

What is your health condition/s and how/does it impact you work and/life?

I have substantial hearing loss and tinnitus in both ears. I was diagnosed with hearing loss in 1996, just after the birth of my daughter. My hearing loss started in my right ear. Then only a year later, after the decrease in my right ear, my left ear started to deteriorate as well, leaving me with a deterioration in both ears. I wear hearing aids (HA) in both ears, all day every day, to help me get through my daily workload and just day to day life, whether at work or at home. 

Wearing HA all day affects my tinnitus as well, so this can often leave me at night with substantial noise (machinery/cars/lorries) in my head which makes it difficult to get to sleep. Wearing HA and having tinnitus can have a major impact on everyday home chores, work roles or tasks. Wearing HA does not automatically make you able to hear, this is a misconception that a lot of people seem to have. There are many different types of hearing loss. Mine is the lack of ability to make out Ps and Bs and tones. With the number of students who come through our doors day to day this can make my job very stressful. 

Working in a large building, with high ceilings and a large volume of traffic, often leaves my head reeling to the point that I try to take my HA out for a few minutes during the day just to find peace and quiet. Having a hearing loss leaves you having to really concentrate on conversations at meetings or just when people are speaking to you. If there are others in the room, it is very hard to focus on more than one person at a time. People are often very ignorant of the fact that someone who wears HA again can automatically hear. I feel the need to also follow lips as well when listening to a conversation, and when someone covers their mouth with their hand or walks away while talking, it’s very frustrating as I cannot lip read when people’s backs are turned. Face to face is best, one to one. These are day to day things which I have to try to overcome with hearing loss – all day every-day. 

How/have you been supported by university policies and/or procedures?

I have only started to be supported in the past few years. I was given a hearing loop to try to use when attending meetings, but I prefer not to sit in on them unless I really need to, as I have lost the confidence in doing so. 

In 2018, I was given time off to attend several months of lipreading classes. In 2019/2020, IHW paid for me to attend British Sign Language classes (Level 3 & 4) run by Deaf Services Lanarkshire.

How have you been supported by colleagues?

There are only a handful of colleagues that I feel fully supported by and only a few of my close office work/friends will go the extra mile to help out (e.g. listen in to a phone call, or help out when they notice I’m struggling with a conversation, they will always make the time to make sure I don’t miss out on a conversation, chitchat, or things in general). Other times, I feel that some colleagues avoid talking to me, or by-pass me when needing a specific task to be carried out. I’m not sure if this is either through the embarrassment of me having to ask them to repeat themselves a few times or not bothering to actually take the time to speak to me; just going to another colleague is easier for them, but it is upsetting to me. I have experienced some teasing too. At the time I laugh along as there’s nothing else to do, but I hope by bringing in more policies and raising awareness of invisible disabilities, people will realise that it’s not right to mock!

Please share anything else that you think might be relevant

Although someone with hearing loss may not be able to hear what is being said, they can very well read body language (such as annoyance at how many times they may have to repeat themselves). Please just have more patience, compassion and a little understanding of how lucky people without hearing loss are to have a choice.