Many People Remain in the Workforce After Cancer Diagnosis

The impact of a cancer diagnosis on employment has been investigated by Statistics Austria in a recent report. Individuals with brain tumors show significant reductions in employment participation regardless of age, while lung cancer leads to the greatest restrictions for those over 30, according to a release on Thursday. Overall, employment after a cancer diagnosis is significantly dependent on the type of tumor.

77 Percent vs. 89 Percent

Annually, around 15,000 people aged 15 to 64 receive a cancer diagnosis - 8,500 while they are in the workforce. "Across all tumor locations, two years after a cancer diagnosis, 77 percent of those affected are still or again employed - compared to 89 percent in the same-age general population," said Manuela Lenk, Director of Statistical Services at Statistics Austria.

Even at the time of diagnosis, it is evident that employment participation depends on the location of the tumor: While it is high (around 70 percent) for malignant melanomas or thyroid cancer, the opposite is true for liver and lung cancer (30 and 40 percent, respectively). 40 percent for lung cancer means that of all people aged between 15 and 64 who receive such a diagnosis, 40 percent are employed at the time of diagnosis. According to Statistics Austria, the low employment participation here reflects the structural social and health disadvantages already described in the literature, which often exist years before the diagnosis.

Relative Employment Probability

For the analysis, the concept of relative employment probability (REP) was also developed. The relative employment probability of individuals with cancer two years after diagnosis is just over 86 percent. This means that this group is about 14 percent less likely to be employed than the same-age general population. Again, the dependency on the type of tumor is evident: The REP for malignant melanomas and thyroid cancer is around 100 percent each (virtually no restriction on employment two years after diagnosis). Cancers in the head and neck area as well as lung cancer lead to the greatest restrictions (REP 70 and 61 percent, respectively).

Reintegration Part-Time Introduced in 2017

The labor and health departments responded to the current report in a release, emphasizing the high importance of targeted labor market and health policy measures. The results show: A large part of those affected manage to regain a foothold professionally with or after a cancer illness - thanks in part to the Fit2Work and reintegration part-time offers. Reintegration part-time (WIETZ) was introduced in 2017. It enables a gradual return to work after longer periods of illness - with social security, medical support, and company agreement, it was stated.

(APA/Red)

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