Work used to feel simple to me. You turned up, did your job, and went home tired but satisfied. MS complicated that picture, not overnight, but gradually — through fatigue, cognition, and the quiet unpredictability that doesn’t fit neatly into job descriptions. When I think about what it really means to support an employee, I don’t think about policies or handbooks. I think about moments — small, human decisions that either make work sustainable or quietly push someone out.support an employee.
This isn’t guidance. It’s reflection. What follows is shaped entirely by lived experience, not theory.
Support an Employee Starts With Understanding, Not Fixing
Support didn’t arrive for me in one grand gesture. It arrived through listening — and sometimes through the absence of pressure. My relationship with work changed long before I stopped working in the same way, something I reflect on in Working with MS. What mattered most wasn’t sympathy; it was space.
Vacant Space 1
Mental Health in the Workplace Is Often Invisible
One of the hardest things to articulate is that mental health in the workplace doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it’s brain fog, sometimes it’s stress triggered by uncertainty, sometimes it’s the sheer effort of appearing “normal.” When employers acknowledge that inner load — without demanding explanation — work becomes less of a performance.
I’ve read articles like this overview on how managers can support employees (https://www.teamly.com/blog/how-can-managers-support-employees/), but the reality on the ground is often quieter and less procedural.
Support in the Workplace Looks Different on Different Days
What helped on Monday didn’t always help on Thursday. That’s the truth MS teaches you early. Real support in the workplace adapts, not because someone is difficult, but because circumstances shift. This was particularly true once I began leaning into flexibility and remote working, something I explore further in Remote Work with MS.
Over time, I learned that to support an employee properly is to recognise the person behind the role and allow work to flex around real life, rather than forcing real life to bend to the job.
Support an Employee at Work Means Respecting Change
The second lesson I learned was that change itself needs accommodation. Roles evolve. Capacity fluctuates. Identity reshapes itself around reality.
Employee Career Development Isn’t Always Upward
There’s a lot of talk about employee career development, but it’s usually framed as progression — promotion, leadership, expansion. My experience was different. Development sometimes meant narrowing focus, shedding responsibilities, or choosing work that demanded less constant vigilance. That shift didn’t mean giving up ambition; it meant redefining it.
This became clearer when I explored alternative paths, including self-directed work and income, which I write about in How a Side Hustle with MS Changed My Career.
Support Employee Development Through Adaptation
True support employee development doesn’t assume a single destination. It allows people to move sideways, slow down, or pause without judgement. When that flexibility exists, people often stay engaged longer — not because they’re pushed, but because they’re trusted.
I’ve seen this echoed in broader discussions around supporting employees in the workplace (https://www.activtrak.com/blog/supporting-employees-in-the-workplace/), though lived experience often adds nuance that articles can’t.
Ways to Support Employee Development Are Often Subtle
Some of the most effective ways to support employee development I experienced were almost invisible: permission to adjust hours, acceptance of different working rhythms, and freedom from constant justification. Those things don’t show up in performance reviews, but they shape whether someone can remain in work at all.
Support an Employee by Creating a Culture That Holds People
Culture is an abstract word until you’re the one being tested by it. Then it becomes tangible very quickly.
Creating Culture in Your Org Is About Safety
I’ve learned that creating culture in your org isn’t about slogans or wellbeing statements. It’s about whether someone feels safe enough to be honest. That honesty matters, especially when illness intersects with employment and financial stability — themes I explore further in Claiming PIP with MS and Disability Benefits for MS.
Promote Training and Development Without Pressure
To promote training and development effectively, pressure has to be removed from the equation. Training that feels like obligation can exhaust someone already managing invisible limits. Training that feels optional, supportive, and relevant can restore confidence.
Resources like Mind’s workplace guidance (https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/4661/resource4.pdf) capture parts of this, but culture determines whether such ideas live or gather dust.
Deal With Difficult Employees — Or Difficult Situations
I’ve seen how workplaces sometimes try to deal with difficult employees when the real challenge is an inflexible system. Illness can make someone appear inconsistent or withdrawn. The question isn’t how to correct that, but whether the environment allows fluctuation without penalty.
Supporting an Employee in the Workplace Is Relational
Ultimately, supporting an employee in the workplace comes down to relationships. It’s about trust built over time, not compliance. This is especially clear when employers engage with lived experience, as discussed in Understanding MS at Work.
Ways to Support an Employee Without Making Them Feel Managed
The most sustainable ways to support an employee are the ones that don’t spotlight support itself. When flexibility, respect, and autonomy are normalised, people stop feeling like exceptions — and start feeling valued again.
From lived experience, learning how to support an employee isn’t about policies or checklists, but about recognising when flexibility, trust, and quiet understanding matter more than formal processes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you support employees?
In my experience, by listening first and removing unnecessary pressure.
What are the 5 C’s of employee engagement?
Frameworks exist, but engagement felt more personal than conceptual. The 5 C’s: Care, Connect, Coach, Contribute & Congratulate
How do you emotionally support your staff?
Presence mattered more than solutions. Empathy is one of the best ways to support an employee.
How to support someone in their work?
By trusting them to know what they need, even when that changes.
Conclusion: What Support Really Meant to Me
Looking back, learning how to support an employee wasn’t about teaching others — it was about recognising what allowed me to remain myself at work. To support an employee at work is to acknowledge humanity without trying to fix it. In my experience, workplaces that understand this retain not just staff, but trust.
For those navigating employment alongside MS, resources like Jobs for People with Multiple Sclerosis and reflections in Living With MS helped me see that work doesn’t have to end — it just has to change shape.
Broader perspectives, such as those shared by BetterUp on supporting employees (https://www.betterup.com/blog/supporting-employees), often align with this truth, even if they arrive there from different angles.
“1987 was decades ago on the calendar, but only last year in my memory.”
Stephenism
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