Migraine
What is migraine?
Migraine is a clinical syndrome involving attacks of multiple symptoms occurring in ‘episodes’ or ‘attacks’. The attacks are separated by intervals in which the person returns to their usual state of health. The symptoms include:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Sensory sensitivity
- Muscle pain
- Cognitive disruption
The symptoms will vary from person to person and individuals may have different symptoms during different attacks. Attacks may differ in length and frequency. Migraines usually last from 4 to 72 hours and most people are free from symptoms between attacks. Migraines can have an enormous impact on work, family and social lives.
How could having migraine affect someone at work?
There are approximately 8 million migraine sufferers in the UK and, there are an estimated 190,000 migraine attacks every day. One of the main reasons given for sickness absence at work is headaches or migraines at a cost of over £2.25 billion to the economy. There is a further financial, emotional, social and personal cost to the individual. Migraine prevalence is age-related and is most prevalent between the ages of 30–50 although can occur at any stage of an individual’s life. Women are also more likely to suffer from migraine attacks than men. Despite the vast number of people affected by the condition awareness is low and just over a third (34.3%) of migraine sufferers face difficulties or discrimination at work because of their condition (The Migraine Trust, 2004)
The episodic nature of the illness can make it hard to appreciate just how ill your employee may have been. Some sufferers may have migraine only once or twice a year while others may have it two or three times a week.
The ‘invisible’ condition
There is also the likelihood that your employee has played down the severity of their condition because of:
- A fear of losing their job
- A fear of being seen as unreliable
- A fear that they will be passed over for promotion
- Not wishing to be thought of as ill or disabled by the condition
Migraine as a disability
Migraine can be classified as a disability under The Equality Act 2010. A person will be classified as disabled for the purposes of the law if they meet the following criteria:
- They have a physical or mental impairment
- The impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities
Minimising the impact of workplace triggers on employees with migraine
As an employer you should be aware that you can take steps together to minimise the impact in the work place by reducing the trigger factors wherever possible. By supporting employees in this way you are sending out a positive signal to all employees. You should be aware that:
- These changes are not necessarily expensive
- It may not be possible to eliminate all of your employees’ migraine attacks but hopefully you can contribute to a reduction in the frequency and or severity of attacks
- These changes can also help other colleagues who may suffer from headaches
- Improved working conditions and practices can help all staff
- You may already have systems and policies to ensure a healthy work environment support.
Adjustments could include:
Change to workplace practices: Frequent breaks, access to drinking water, rotation of tasks etc. will enable individuals to manager their migraine triggers in the workplace
Stress Management:Tackling stress in the workplace and within an individual’s job role may help to reduce and tackle migraine triggers. Regular supervisions between individuals’ and their managers will help to identify work related stress.
Changes to the physical work environment: Lighting glare, computer screens, poor ventilation and discomfort caused by an employee’s work station can, amongst others, trigger migraine attacks.
The Migraine Trust has created a Workplace Pack to support employers and employees to manage migraines in the workplace. More information can be found at www.migrainetrust.org/information-packsor by contacting advocacy@migrainetrust.org
