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Chronic Health Conditions and Work Identity from a Lifespan Development Frame

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Work and Identity

Part of the book series: Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma ((PAEWS))

Abstract

In the workplace, chronic health conditions bring significant challenges to both individuals and organisations. For individuals, chronic health conditions are a ‘biographical disruption’ (Bury in Sociol Health Illn 4:167–182, 1982) that can prompt identity change. In this chapter, we apply concepts from lifespan psychology and identity process theory to explore how individuals respond and adapt their identities to chronic health conditions. The goals of adult development models are growth, resilience, and regulation of loss. We propose processes of identity assimilation, a resilience response in which individuals are able to incorporate their health condition into their existing self-schemata, and identity accommodation, which requires a more significant shift to regulate their loss. We discuss the implications and directions for future research.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan, Dearborn, MI, USA

    Joy E. Beatty

  2. University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Alyssa K. McGonagle

Authors
  1. Joy E. Beatty
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  2. Alyssa K. McGonagle
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern Queensland , Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

    Shalene Werth

  2. University of Southern Queensland , Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

    Charlotte Brownlow

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Beatty, J.E., McGonagle, A.K. (2018). Chronic Health Conditions and Work Identity from a Lifespan Development Frame. In: Werth, S., Brownlow, C. (eds) Work and Identity. Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73936-6_2

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