Almost a third of professionals say their asthma has hampered their career development or held them back at work, according to a new survey.
The Live, Love, Play report by Asthma Australia has revealed that more than half of Australians with uncontrolled asthma take time off work each year because of their symptoms, with 56% doing so at least once a year and 18% taking time off every two months or more.
Given the absenteeism of many asthma sufferers, their career progression is also impeded. More than a third (35%) of professionals surveyed and 59% who are senior managers said their asthma has hindered their career development.
“The research has shown us that although people may believe that they are controlling their asthma, in reality symptoms can get in the way of Australian workers completing tasks and can impact on their career prospects,” said Mark Brooke, CEO of Asthma Australia. “This is also a problem for our economic productivity, with nearly one in three people with asthma working below their best levels.”
According to the survey of 1060 respondents, almost two thirds (60%) have had asthma attacks at work, with 40% reporting that stressful situations at work made their asthma worse. The most common reason cited was working towards a tight deadline or under pressure (22%) followed by serving multiple customers (8%), presentations, meetings and pitches (7%) and answering tough questions (5%).
Over a quarter (28%) of respondents said their asthma has had a negative effect on their career and only six percent felt that their colleagues are supportive of their asthma problems and help them manage it in the workplace.
According to the survey, senior managers feel that if their asthma didn’t hold them back, they could improve their productivity at work and their confidence in their work skills and abilities. Thirty-five percent also felt they could improve their ability to lead a team or manage staff and develop new business.