Unseen Challenges: How Chronic Conditions Impact the Workplace and Ways Employers Can Offer Support

May 6, 2025 12:00 pm Central | Register 1 CHES/MCHES Credit Available

Guest Panelists:

Gillian K. SteelFisher, PhD, MSc, Principal Research Scientist and Director, Harvard Opinion Research Program

Emma Dewhurst, MPP, Senior Program & Research Associate, de Beaumont Foundation

Host: Paul Terry, PhD, HERO

Millions of workers are managing conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and asthma, often without the support they need. A new national poll by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation assesses the impact of chronic health conditions in the workplace, highlighting the toll chronic conditions have on both employers and employees. The poll, conducted among a national sample of U.S. employees, found that three-fourths (76%) of those with chronic conditions need to manage their conditions during work hours. Yet a majority (60%) have not formally disclosed their conditions to their employer. Further, one-third of all employees (33%) say they have helped family members with their chronic conditions in the past year, and nearly half of those helping family members (45%) frequently needed to do so during working hours.

While employees struggle in silence, productivity drops, absenteeism rises, and health care costs climb. But without visibility into how your employees — and your business — are affected, you may be missing opportunities to provide support. This webinar will provide an in-depth presentation of the poll’s findings along with a discussion of opportunities for employers to better support employees who are managing their own or their family’s chronic conditions.

1. Explain the interconnectedness between public health and thriving businesses and the value proposition of why businesses and public health should work closely together.
2. Describe the effect of chronic conditions on employee well-being, productivity, and absenteeism.
3. Determine actions employers can take to support employes who are managing their own or their family’s chronic conditions.

HOST

Paul Terry, PhD, is a Senior Fellow at HERO where he leads our learning agenda. Paul is also Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion. His prior positions were president and CEO at HERO, president and CEO at StayWell Health Management, and president and CEO at The Park Nicollet Institute. Paul is the author of four books and over 200 research and professional papers. A study he led won the C. Everett Koop National Health Award. He was awarded two Fulbright Senior Scholarships and served on advisory councils for The National Academy of Sciences, the American Heart Association, the CDC, the University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Emma Dewhurst, MPP, is a Senior Program and Research Associate at the de Beaumont Foundation. Her work includes an array of evaluation, research, and program efforts, with a focus on translating research to strengthen the Foundation’s impact. Emma manages the Foundation’s public opinion polling and message testing research and leads evaluation and research for the Public Health Communication

Gillian SteelFisher, Ph.D., M.Sc., is a Principal Research Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and serves as the Director of the Harvard Opinion Research Program (HORP). Grounded in more than 25 years of experience conducting public opinion surveys both domestically and globally, Dr. SteelFisher’s work focuses on the intersection between research and practical application in public health communication. Dr. SteelFisher teaches applied survey methodology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She received her Ph.D. in Health Policy from Harvard University and her Masters in health behavior and communication from Harvard School of Public Health. She is the former President of the New England Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (NEAAPOR) and a Thought Leader for the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC).