To ask, if you are a manager, how would you respond to this from your employee?

[atleastimtryin]

If your employee told you they were undergoing tests under an urgent 2 week referral. Obviously I know you'd wish them well, but would you feel concerned that it would affect their work/concentration? Would you try and make things easier for them in the meantime if possible e.g. make sure their workload is manageable or would you just carry on as normal?

Personally (and I have been in that situation) I wouldn't even tell them until I had to. If the symptoms were unmanageable I'd have gone off sick .

As a manager this is very common - sadly a majority of people will get a 2 week referral or another worrying test regime at some point in their career. I would not offer a change in role or responsilbity unless they were travelling on company business away form home- which I’d have to stop for insurance purposes
I would ask if they wanted to discuss it more with me. I’d then have recommended they talk to occupational health (lucky we had that on site) and discuss what if anything they needed help with. I’d also remind them of employee assistance program. I’d then say don’t hesititste to come and see me if there’s an issue. Clearly if they were upset and very very anxious I’d suggest they go home for rest of the day.
id make a note in my diary of the day of the test . I’d book a 1:1 the day after to follow up- even though we wouldn’t have got results by then

i followed this same protocol on the 3 times it has happened to me. Once breast cancer was detected, one a false alarm, and one a skin cancer. As I say sadly very common .

Maybe ask how you can help by directly talking to them? A confidential discussion with HR and your manager is also a good idea and ask them to keep communication open with you.

if you can support them with their appointments and be flexible as much as you can. Have regular 121s but don’t do this if you don’t do it with the rest of the team.

do not pass the information on to wider colleagues within the team/department.

I wouldn’t do anything differently. Thank them for letting me know and ask them which days they would be off so I could organise cover

It’s not that uncommon

Ask them what support they may need. Some prefer to just carry on, some aren’t well enough. Completely depends on the individual.

Your manager can’t read your mind. Just speak to them about what you feel you need.

I think at that stage I would express concern, ask to be kept updated and ask them to come to me if they feel they need extra help. If the person then received bad news, I would expect more support to be needed.

I have had three referrals and the last did show cancer. I didn't tell my boss until I'd been given the bad news and have found that I still like to work as much as my chemo side effects allow. But I have the kind of job which is physically easy and low stress, along with a very supportive boss and colleagues. I initially had the odd day off when my anxiety was so severe that I couldn't work but that has lessened over time. A contingency plan has been put in place to allow me to come in when I feel able and ensure that my work is still completed if not. Probably a bit of a nightmare for my boss, to be honest, but he is happy to go with whatever works for me.

If you're asking because you are the person who has been referred and are struggling, then I think you need to ask for more help. It could be that your boss has had a couple of referrals which have turned out to be nothing and therefore thinks that others might not be so concerned about it.

Some people benefit from the normality and distraction of work so reducing that shouldn’t be automatic but I’d be open to that or giving them some time off if that was what they wanted. I definitely wouldn’t hold them to usual standards

I would ask them what, if anything, I could do to support them.

I would say "If there's anything you need before then, please don't hesitate to ask" then wait and watch. If they seem to be struggling/tired, ask again.

I’ve had two two week referrals in the past 18 months. I’ve just carried on as normal.

I'd ask them if they needed any extra support etc. I'd expect/prefer them to say if they needed it, so I can accomodate it with extra resources/move deadlines etc.

If you're the employee, I think you need to guide your manager because what someone will need will vary from person to person.

So, I've been referred so might need to be off at short notice but I'm fine to work as normal otherwise. Or, I've been referred and struggling with concentration, could we meet to discuss my workload.

I would wish them well and carry on as normal. I would assume that they would have brought documentation from their health care provider should any modifications in the work requirements have been necessary.

Beyond that , I would have been mindful of their privacy and made no enquiries. Should things change post procedure, I would expect them to notify me or human resources.

Honestly, it would depend on the employee. Someone who rarely has time off, doesn't disclose medical information - I'd be really concerned about and would offer support if they needed it. Someone who is regularly off sick and appears to have lots of tests on a regular basis - less so. I've got one employee currently who has the most appalling diet to man yet is convinced they've got a serious gastric issue they've been referred like this several times, and shock horror, they've found nothing.... so now when they tell me that they've been referred for tests and need yet more time off, I internally roll my eyes.

Haven't read anything but the OP but I would take my lead from the employee, and ask them what they needed. I'd be kind and sympathetic and ask if they needed anything or any adjustments and I'd let them know where I am if they needed me. Then I'd back off.

I’m currently going through the initial stages of diagnosis and have a consultation in January which will give me a date for my op. I told my line manager as soon as I found out it’s cancer and I need an op. Manager passed it on to their line manager who asked if they could speak to me. I had already preempted this by saying I didn’t need sympathy or anything really and that I would keep them posted when I have a date for the op.

It was nice when my manger’s boss spoke to me and said they would give me whatever I needed which I appreciated, but I really don’t want sympathy or adjustments at the moment. I just need management to know what my situation is and then for me to be allowed to continue to work as hard as ever as it is a great distraction.

I would say be guided by the employee.

Ime if you want something, ask.

People cant guess what you will want/need. Far better to be upfront.

In my office you'd show concern and then tell them to let you know if there's anything they need. Cut them a bit of slack if the work quality drops and if it does drastically so, then have another quiet word asking if they need some support/time off.

But then, we don't work in an area that is especially critical, so dropping a bit of quality isn't going to kill anyone, for example.

I would ask if there was any support they needed such as reduced hours or a different working pattern and remind them of things like the EAP for support. I would not pry but would be clear if they needed anything we could explore it in a supportive way on confidence. And I would check in on them regularly without being invasive.

Ask them what they need. How would we know?

Thanks all. To clarify, I am the employee. I'm not asking for any changes in workload but I just wanted to know what to expect from my manager. I've been feeling quite tearful and anxious as the 'best case' scenario is a chronic condition that will impact me for the rest of my life. The diagnostic process is also invasive. I'm also experiencing symptoms (although they are minor right now) and was very nearly hospitalised a couple of weeks ago.

I'm self employed but was recently referred to a gynaecologist on a two week wait. It really affected my performance at work. All I wanted anyone to do was put their arms around me and tell me it would be ok, however as I work alone most of the time, there wasn't anyone. Please support them in the best way possible.

I don't think anyone can possibly say, I'm sorry. Managers come in all shapes and sizes and levels of compassion. Also many things might depend on what kind of job you do.

You need to have a conversation with your manager and be honest, if you think your job may be impacted. You have said you aren't looking for any changes in your workload, but are you positive that there are aren't things that would make it easier for you? If there are then mention them and ask if they could be done without causing too much disruption to others? Stress that you want to still be as efficient as possible. Also have you an HR department? Speak to them too. Ask for a work area assessment in case there are things they can provide for you which would help. Special chairs for people with back problems are a very common example. Your work do have a duty of care for you too

The thing is every situation is different and everyone is individual. You need to decide what you want from work atm then discuss with your manager.

Do you need someone to talk to, work shorter days, take some leave, lose some of your work for now as you’re distracted etc. Your manager doesn’t know what you want/need, and you may not know what is reasonable to ask for in terms of adjustments you may need either short or long term.

depends on how you get on with your manager and your working relationship. Some are more formal than others, so ask for a chat, book in a meeting, email them etc depending on how you normally communicate.

I currently manage 8 staff all of which are individual! and I try to treat them as such. But they all do similar work, so there is scope to move work around etc.

So in answer to your question, I’d chat with them, ask them how they were coping and how can I support them. Do they need any reasonable adjustments that would help them to manage?