Getting to know Rosalind Joffe

Rosalind Joffe is author of the popular blog, ‘Working With Chronic Illness’, and co-author of the blog ‘Keep Working Girlfriend’. She founded the career coaching practice, cicoach.com, building on her experiences living and working with MS and ulcerative colitis, and is dedicated to helping others with chronic illness develop the skills they need to succeed in the workplace.

Together with her ‘Keep Working Girlfriend’ blog co-author, Joan Friedlander, Rosalind has written a book ‘Women, Work and AutoImmune Disease: Keep Working Girlfriend’, which encourages women with chronic illness to stay employed to preserve their independence and sense of self, and helps teach them the knowledge and skills they need to do so. In the book, Fibromyalgia Syndrome (Fibro) is included along with autoimmune conditions such as Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis, as the impact and variable nature of the conditions are very similar.

FibroAction founder, Lindsey Middlemiss, herself a blogger, here takes the opportunity to interview Rosalind and find out a bit more about her, her job and her book.

Lindsey: Hi Rosalind, thanks for letting me interview you. First of all, congratulations on a great book: I really enjoyed reading it!

I'm delighted that you found the book useful. I can honestly say that writing it was a fantastic experience for me. I found writing a book, however, much more difficult than I'd imagined. I'd been writing newsletters for years and published several short booklets and that fooled me. I had no idea of how much more complex a book would be.

Lindsey: What does an executive career coach actually do? I think it is a role more common in the US, but it sounds like something I could have used in the past!

There are several parts to that answer. First as a career coach, my role is to help a person develop the competencies he or she needs to be more successful on the job. Sometimes that means in their current job. Sometimes it means finding a new job or even a new career. As a career coach for people who live with chronic illness, it inevitably includes a clear assessment regarding how the illness impacts their ability to do that job so a person can make the best decisions looking ahead. It often includes working on how you talk about symptoms, accommodations and the other issues that come up when you live with unpredictable and debilitating health. We also work on how to use your networks to get a new job, how to assess an organizational or job fit and so on - all with chronic illness as the backdrop to these decisions. I've developed a home study program that's a compendium to my book and it's called 'The Working with Chronic illness Workbook' - it's on my website, cicoach.com. It includes many of these assessments. But I do want to clarify that although I was an executive coach at one time, I don't classify myself as an executive career coach because I work with anyone who cares about work as a career. That's why my tagline is: The resource for professionals who live with chronic illness.

Lindsey: Do you work with clients in person, or can your role be performed with email and telephone?

Rosalind: All of my work is on the phone. I find that's most efficient (many coaches work that way) and it also saves my clients energy. Furthermore, I have clients all over the world so face to face wouldn't be a good business model here.

Lindsey: Many people with chronic illness really struggle at work: I know I have done and I’m sure many readers are thinking that work is not good for their health and maybe they shouldn’t be working. You obviously feel very strongly that women with chronic illness should be able to keep working – and should keep working. It’s something that you discuss from a number of different angles in ‘Women, Work and AutoImmune Disease: Keep Working Girlfriend’, but can you summarise why you think this is so important?

Rosalind: Well, to begin with, as we say in the book, when you stop working, you become financially vulnerable, unless you're independently wealthy. Even if you have a spouse or parents to support you, you're relyling on others and that leaves many people feeling vulnerable and hurts their self esteem. And illness leaves you feeling vulnerable enough - and lowers your self esteem. Unemployment usually compounds those negative feelings. Then, there is the social and emotional feedback we get from working that you lose when you're unemployed. Most of us have had jobs in which we felt we'd rather be anywhere than here, but it's easy to forget how long a day can be when you're unemployed. Especially if you're under 60 and most of the people around you are at work. Also, no doubt, work can be a burden but it can also be a distraction.

That said, I had two children and was so sick with ulcerative colitis that I couldn't work for two years and could barely get out of bed to get them to school. So I know that there are times when you just can't work. And there are jobs that are so 'toxic' that they are bad for you. Finally there are some people who don't easily fit into the "working world" and perhaps they wouldn't have been happy being employed (or self employed) regardless of their health. The book was written for people who want to keep working - to encourage them because there are many factors that make it so difficult, particularly for women.

Lindsey: Do you feel that finding something you love doing is more important in choosing a career when you have a chronic illness?

Rosalind: Interesting question. First I think we have to talk about the economics. Some people simply feel that they can't afford to look for work they love while trying to pay the bills - and that's a reality. But if you have the opportunity and the space in your life to focus on finding work that you really enjoy or are passionate about, I'd be hard pressed to argue that it wouldn't be a smart thing to pursue. Living with a chronic illness is tough - physically and mentally. If you're spending your days doing tasks that are enjoyable in a rewarding environment, that's one less hurdle and it can be a great distraction.

Lindsey: In your experience, does working for a large company, a small business or self-employed best suit more women with chronic illness? Or is it entirely individual and if so, are there traits that you pick out that let you know that a certain work environment is likely to be better for someone?

Rosalind: There are pros and cons to each. Large companies can offer you great benefits and sometimes can offer the most opportunities for reinventing yourself. But they can also be inflexible because they need to be bureacratic. Small companies get to know who you are and often will be more loyal to individuals when times get tough - if they can afford it. But they can also be limited in terms of career advancement and benefits. Self employment gives you the benefit of not having a boss or anyone to answer to - obviously it offers schedule and occupational flexbility. But it can isoltating and there's no fall back system when you get sick.

Regardless of where you are, I suggest that anyone with chronic illness look for an environment that offers maximum flexibility. This is generally reflected the mission and culture of the organization. I also think that you have to look for an organization that respects a worker's limits - in terms of hours. That's particularly a problem in the US where working more hours than the job description is considered normal.

Lindsey: ‘Women, Work and AutoImmune Disease: Keep Working Girlfriend’ is mainly aimed at people who are already employed in some way. Do you have any tips for someone with a chronic illness who stopped working because of their health, but has not had a positive experience of being unemployed and would like to get work again, but does not know where to start as their health problems are still there?

Rosalind: Both Joan and I know people with chronic illness often have to look for jobs, probably more than the healthy population. We certainly did. But we decided at the outset that the book could be informative and inspiring - some 'tips". But the situation you describe requires developing new competencies for yourself. That's what I do with my clients. And that why I created my Workbook - it's filled with assessments and excersises for looking for a job. But, since you asked, I can offer a place to start. Figure out what you CAN do - do a self assessment of your skills, talents and interests and, your debilitating symptoms that wax and wane. Then seek friends and colleagues who know and value you to brainstorm with you so you can get out of limited thinking. Finally, be really honest with yourself about your capabilities and limitations so you can find work that you can do for the long haul. Most importantly, decide if it's necessary to ask for accommodations - and if you can do a particular job successfully, because if you can't, you won't be there long.

Lindsey: In ‘Women, Work and AutoImmune Disease: Keep Working Girlfriend’ your co-author Joan discusses the importance of getting a good work-life balance. Can you share with us some of the things you like to do outside of work?

Rosalind: I love spending rainy weekends watching movies on dvd at home with my husband - and reading novels. We've grown to be fans of opera and listen and go to that - but I like all music and find it both fun and relaxing. I've always loved to cook very complex dishes and love cooking for family and friends but when I'm tired and not well, standing is tough so as the years have gone on, I just do simpler and less. Also this is one hobby that that my business has impacted - just don't have as much time. I loved gardening but as the years go on, I'm also less willing to live with the pain after hours of bending. I exercise daily - long walks with our dog, pilates and strength training. I used to meditate but in the past few years, I spend more time doing a technique called Focusing. I've gotten into kayaking in the past few years and find that's something that I can usually do regardless of how I feel. And finally, I spend a lot of time with people I love - my husband and grown daughters, extended family and good friends. That gives me the best "juice" of all.

Thank you to Rosalind for this interview. For more information on ‘Women, Work and AutoImmune Disease: Keep Working Girlfriend’, see Rosalind's website, cicoach.com.