Heard an ad for this pledge the other day while I was listening to a podcast and immediately thought this has got to be propaganda.
As somebody who has been struggling with a chronic health issue while continuing to work full time, I can understand why somebody would want their employer to be more understanding of how unpredictable chronic conditions can be...
But for fucks sake, the stress of work and people viewing your value based on what they think you should be doing for them is really the last thing people should be dealing with on top of being sick. Most people are forced to keep working just to survive and keep their health insurance.
Out of curiosity decided to look into the company that started this, and I have to say, their track record really doesn't help change my initial reaction.
Ad giant Publicis Health agrees to $350M settlement over claims it helped fuel opioid crisis
https://www.reddit.com/r/advertising/comments/1o049v3/publicis_exposed/
an ex-Publicis employee just exposed all the wrong everyone in this industry already knows. discrimination, retaliation, bad managers etc
Based on their other controversies, they sure sound like typical corporate scumbags who profit from and enable fascism (and likely sex trafficking of children) while gaslighting the public and insisting any critics are just being dramatic/blowing things out of proportion.
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As somebody with Crohn's and a very understanding boss, this security is really important imo. I haven't always had an understanding boss, Ive lost jobs due to time out recovering, Ive been scolded, laughed at, and generally misunderstood.
I don't really like working, but the revolution isn't coming tomorrow, and work is what allows me to do all of the other things that bring me joy. My current situation has me so thankful. Some days I just don't have the energy to really put in the labor, and my Boss doesn't give me shit about it, even though it's his lost production. Some days I can't even come in at all, and never once has he questioned me. I think part of it is that we have a deeper relationship than boss/employee, but another is that when I'm healthy, I work my ass off, because I really enjoy what we do and want my friends business to succeed.
If I could know that my need for chaotic schedule changes, Dr appointments, bathroom time, ect would all be not just met, but also not questioned, because it's known that I AM dedicated to the job besides my condition, I would be much more comfortable applying to larger workplaces.
I'm definitely not arguing that workplaces shouldn't be more understanding of chronic conditions. Legal protections exist for people with disabilities and chronic conditions for a reason, but even with these protections we should be doing more to legally protect people and their jobs.
However, getting people to sign this pledge doesn't seem to really accomplish anything other than serve as an advertising campaign for this movement and help spread misleading propaganda that working after being diagnosed with cancer is in the best interest of the individual battling cancer.
In reality, people battling cancer or any chronic illness seem to have better outcomes if they continue to have a sense of purpose during treatment, but a sense of purpose is not inherently tied to working or employment.
Given that this is an advertisement company with a documented history of peddling harmful corporate propaganda (fueling the opioid crisis, whitewashing detention centers for children) as well as a reputation for mistreating their own employees, this really comes off as typical (for them) predatory corporate propaganda aimed at normalizing people being pushed to continue working until their bodies physically can't keep going, and claiming that doing so is actually beneficial to their recovery.
Almost like they saw opportunity in the crisis of rising cancer rates, increased public policy aimed at government deregulation, and workplace protections being stripped away from many individuals? Which given their history, doesn't really seem implausible.
Interesting but definitely not unrelated sidenote: States like W.V. and KY were hit especially hard by the opioid epidemic much earlier than the rest of the U.S. because pharmaceutical companies targeted coal mining areas with similar propaganda, and this is the company that helped them do it. They knew people there commonly suffered debilitating back injuries while working in the mines, and peddled prescription opiates as a solution that would allow people to continue working pain free even after being injured.
Ad giant Publicis Health agrees to $350M settlement over claims it helped fuel opioid crisis
Opioids and Appalachia