Employment and the Reconstruction of Self. A Model of Space for Maintenance of Identity by Occupation

By focusing on the everyday life of persons suffering from chronic illness who have been re-employed, this article reflects on how it is possible for these persons to maintain identity and attain health through employment. As a consequence of governmental efforts to encourage employment in Norway, increasing numbers of the chronically ill are joining the ranks of the employed. In order to study their active adaptations in an inductive manner, this study is based on in-depth interviews with 13 persons who had returned to their previous jobs. By studying their adaptations and the ''space'' within which the identity process develops, this space is found to vary as a result of their flexibility at work, illness experience, and adaptations at home. The results pose how daily life is influenced when a person is affected by illness. In order to maintain their self-esteem through employment, this study visualizes how these re-employed with chronic illness experience limited possibilities for adaptations and restitution at work. Their need for rest was therefore first and foremost affecting family life and the leisure activities.