Share health issues

People with health problems sometimes struggle with how much to share with their employer.

For example, an older woman who works on her feet all day and gets swollen, painful ankles may be afraid to ask her boss for a chair to sit on. And because she can’t afford to take time off, she may not get the doctor’s excuse that might require reasonable accommodation.

It’s a tricky issue of diversity in that she stands out from her younger co-workers who don’t have this problem. But an employee can’t afford to be more concerned about an employer’s reaction than his or her own health or potential disability.

Once a doctor has given a recommendation, then sitting down with the boss to come up with a job adjustment may be in order.

Extra work bugs employee

Dear Diversity Diva: I work in a department where a lot of people are taking time off from work because of kids sick with the flu. It’s just assumed that I’m going to take up the slack because my husband and I don’t have kids.

Not to be mean, but is there anything I can do? — Bugged by the Flu Bug

Dear Bugged: In a word, no.

You put the emphasis on the fact that your co-workers are missing work because their kids have the flu. But does it really make a difference if it’s because of their kids or their spouses or they themselves are home sick?

Ultimately, your workload will change from time to time because of things beyond the control of your co-workers. Just like circumstances in your life, from vacations to your own illnesses, will add to the workload of your co-workers.

If your work is involving overtime or longer hours, you can say no sometimes. And if it truly is quantifiably excessive, file it away as something to support your next raise or promotion.

Just remember they call it a flu season for a reason. So this too shall pass. In the meantime, remember that taking care of sick children isn’t exactly a trip to Disneyland, especially this year.

Is calling someone the wrong name a big deal?

Dear Diversity Diva: The other day I accidentally called a woman in another department by the wrong name and she accused me of thinking that “we all look alike,” since the person I confused her with was of the same race and I’m white. I think that was totally unfair. Everyone mixes people up on occasion, so what’s the big deal? — Tweaking My Twenty-Twenty

Dear Tweaking: Mistakes do happen, and you’re right that in a professional environment people should carefully check how they express frustration.

Most likely your co-worker’s frustration stems from having one of the many again confusing her with one of the few, because I have no doubt this isn’t the first time this has happened to her or to someone she knows. She probably thought that if you can’t keep so few people straight who only share race in common, it’s because you’re either deliberately ignorant or benignly careless.

So if she is already pointedly dealing with being one of a small number, what seems like an innocent mistake to you is a grating misstep to her — and one that minorities generally don’t feel like they have the luxury to make.

Quick rule of thumb: If a person of any race is significant enough to be called by a name at work, make sure it’s the name of the person you’re talking to.

When is it a case of unclear meaning?

Dear Diversity Diva: At a meeting, I was trying to make a point about the need for a variety of perspectives when a co-worker jumped down my throat, mistakenly thinking that I was talking about too many “white males” being on the project. The assumption ticked me off. Is that all anyone thinks you mean just because you’re a member of a minority group? — Making Sense of Assumptions

Dear Making Sense: There would have been nothing wrong if in championing different perspectives, you were including racial background. But if that’s not where you were going, it can be annoying to have to address a point you didn’t make.

Your co-worker would have been better served asking what you meant. And you should have asked him why he was reframing what you said into a completely different point.

Usually discussions like that are best held one on one, but in this case clearing it up professionally in front of the original audience would be a good tactic to nip any misconceptions. And it would set the tone for how you expect important diversity issues to be handled in your presence — which is that you don’t want the concerns you bring up to be obscured by presumptions of what people think you mean.

Why does our company celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

Dear Diversity Diva: Not to be funny, but I’m trying to figure out why people in America celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Is it even a holiday that has anything to do with our country? The company I work for has been having Cinco de Mayo activities for a few years. — Figuring Out Festivities

Dear Figuring Out: I think there’s a larger point you’re getting at with your question — which is, why is your company choosing to focus on some ethnic and diversity events and not others? (By the way, Cinco de Mayo celebrates a victory by the Mexican army over the French army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.)

Corporate America frequently passes homage to all kinds of celebrations, holidays and historical events so as not to be just paying lip service to inclusion. It may look like window dressing or just fun and games, but to those who like a workplace that isn’t completely homogenous, it matters.

Although every ethnic, religious or other diverse group isn’t going to get its own event at work, your company at least wants to look like it recognizes the major ones, and in the case of Cinco de Mayo, it’s partially a nod to a segment of the largest ethnic group in our society.

However, companies would serve their whole work force better if they explained the significance of the celebrations. Even St. Patrick’s Day has a historical context besides just an opportunity to wear green, throw a parade and party.