Last week I received an email from an employer who suspects that a woman he recently hired has anorexia. Let's call him "Charlie." Although he did not know her well, Charlie was concerned about his employee's personal well-being but didn't quite know how to go about offering her help. Aside from occasional sluggishness from sinus medication, the woman's work performance was "great."
This important topic cries out for more discussion and study. After exhaustive internet research, I found very little information. I do not know how many of the millions of women suffering from anorexia and other eating disorders hold jobs but suspect that the number is high.
That this state of affairs exists is understandable but not acceptable. An employer unfamiliar with eating disorders would usually feel uncomfortable approaching an employee about so personal a matter, while the employee would strive to keep her condition secret. But when people stand on social niceties, illnesses flourish. We will probably never know how many people could have been helped but lost their lives to venereal disease, AIDS, and cancer because these ailments were not topics for discussion in polite society.
True, it is a tough and delicate issue for both employer and employee. The rights of both parties must be respected. An employer has a right to a productive workforce and an employee should only be terminated for just cause. Joanne Larsen, M.S., a registered dietician at Millville Public Schools in Cumberland County, New Jersey, points out that an employer cannot fire someone merely because of a medical or psychological condition "as that would be discriminatory."
Especially puzzling is the reticence of experts. I put this question to numerous employee assistance and related organizations via email. One did not feel "comortable having the discussion on the internet." Most did not respond at all. Three, however, made constructive suggestions.
The Massachussetts Eating Disorders Association offered the following advice to people in Charlie's position:
He should tell the person that he cares and is concerned about his/her wellbeing and encourage the person to talk to a counselor or therapist. The employer can educate himself/herself and should always remain positive because people do recover from eating disorders. Do not, however, focus on weight or food. These are only symptoms of whatever the real problem is. Do not give the person guilt, threaten, punish, bribe or preach. For more information, you can call our helpline at (617) 558-1881.
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