A significant gap often exists between the priorities of employees affected by cancer and employer performance goals. By fostering collaboration between workplaces and health systems, we can create environments that improve support for employees affected by cancer and achieve sustainable outcomes for all stakeholders.
Maintaining or returning to good, sustainable work is vital for a person’s identity, confidence, social connection, financial security, and overall recovery, while employers, the focus often centres on achieving organisational goals and productivity targets.
Today, workplaces are increasingly focused on inclusive environments—support for parents, mental health challenges, carers, and menopause—yet unprepared to address the unique challenges posed by cancer. Organisations often lack the awareness and resources needed to offer individualised, compassionate support for employees and their caregivers navigating cancer.
This creates tension: how do we close these expectation gaps to benefit both sides?
Cancer affects over 1 million Australians, with 40% of those diagnosed being of working age—a figure expected to rise significantly by 2040. While the need for compassionate and practical workplace support is clear, many employers face challenges due to a lack of essential systems and resources, including structured procedures to guide approaches and discussions; effective stakeholder collaboration, communication and decision-making skills; access to information and toolkits on cancer; and adequate financial resources to support return-to-work initiatives.
Health professionals and cancer organisations play a pivotal role in empowering employees and employers to achieve better outcomes. Health professionals can advocate for early work discussions during cancer care, partner with employers, and offer practical guidance on managing work-related challenges – particularly related to fatigue and cognitive impairments. Cancer organisations can provide employer-focused resources, including toolkits for implementing flexible work arrangements and proactive, personalised RTW and communication frameworks.
Achieving the "best of both worlds" means improving retention, morale, and contributing to organisational performance by balancing compassion, efficiency, and proactive engagement across sectors.