29.Disclosure pt.1- the work place

The issue of telling others about Turners Syndrome is a vexed one. It can be difficult to know who to tell, what to tell them and when to tell them.
I will first look at the issue of telling people in the workplace.

The issue of disclosure in the work place works on several level

Firstly there is the responsibility to inform your employer. Legally there is an obligation to inform on any health form/job application. However this does not necessarily mean that the colleagues you work with need to be informed. I have never been asked to go for a medical when I have been offered a post so I do not know what the procedure would be in these cases. I know that many women with TS work in caring professions such as nursing where this may be necessary.

Then there is the issue of whether you tell your immediate line manager.

I had a very bad experience with the one line manager who I told. I have to say that the description I gave him was not a helpful one as it was highly negative in its portrayal of TS. I wanted him to know that I would respond better to being line managed in a particular manner and that I would require some understanding.
However the positive side of my experience is that I have not felt the need to tell any of my other line managers. My TS does not affect my ability to do my work and my treatment has a minimal impact in terms of having to take time off for doctor’s appointments.

A large part of why I have not told my other line managers is firstly because I do not want them thinking that I am less capable. I also do not want them to automatically assume that I will have certain issues that women with TS have such as the spacial and non-verbal communication issues. I most certainly do not want them viewing me in a particular manner because I am infertile. The descriptions of Turners syndrome in medical dictionaries and what press coverage there has been of TS are not necessarily very flattering!

I also do not want to use TS as an excuse for either poor performance or poor behaviour.
From the experiences of other women with TS I know that I have heard about, it is better not to inform your immediate line manager, particularly when there are difficulties in the relationship. It will not help resolve these difficulties and may exacerbate them.

Thirdly there is the issue of work colleagues who do not manage you. I have only told two work colleagues and they have been colleagues I have been particularly friendly with. In one case this was actually because I wanted the opinion of the colleague who knew Gabriel what his reaction may be if I told him.

I have worked in my current job for six years and the people I work with have got to know me fairy well. They know that I go for hospital appointments. They are certainly aware that I have coeliac disease and hypothyroidism. They also see me as someone who gets ill fairly regularly. I have given clues that I have a long term condition that is the cause of my other health issues.

All in all, as far as the work place is involved I am of the opinion ‘less is more'.