the company in the age of peer assistance

“When the social worker at my company suggested that I contact the “Cancer and work: acting together” branch, I was reluctantremembers Marina Peron, quality auditor at Sanofi, in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne). It was in 2018. I had just returned to work after a year’s sick leave due to breast cancer, and I only thought of one thing: reinvesting in my position, as if it had never happened. nothing happened. I refused to admit that the after-effects of the treatments were affecting my ability to work, and I did not want to talk about my personal life. In my department, almost no one knew about my health problems. »

However, the forty-year-old contacted Hélène Bonnet, biology researcher at Sanofi and co-founder of these listening spaces run internally by employees who have experienced the disease. « Hélène immediately understood what I needed, because she too endured cancerconfides Marina Peron. She started a dialogue with my superiors, in order to lighten my workload. For four years, Hélène listened to me and advised me when I had doubts and concerns, and allowed me to hold on. »

Marina Peron is not the only one to have requested one of the twenty-five “Cancer and work: acting together” branches of Sanofi. Launched in 2017 by several colleagues affected by the disease, this program has been developed on sites in France. More than 400 employees affected by cancer – personally, for a loved one or a colleague – have benefited. The internal network is made up of doctors, nurses, social workers and peer helpers. The latter have experienced the illness and are trained in counseling. Developed in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century^e century, this set of practices includes, among others, active listening and psychological support.

“Health is built collectively”

“Our seventy-three peer helpers put their experience and knowledge at the service of employees so that they can balance work and careexplains Hélène Bonnet. It is not a question of telling the person: “eat well”, “sleep well” or “be courageous”. The principle is to initiate a dialogue which will allow it to regain a “power to act”, to discuss with the right internal interlocutors and to take advantage of existing systems which, at first glance, perhaps did not seem desirable to it. , or difficult to envisage, such as arranging your working time – flexible hours or teleworking – or a temporary reduction in your workload. The goal is for this person to be able to continue to project themselves into the company. »

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