Managing IBS at Work: Tips for Symptom Control and Communication Strategies

Having Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, can be a challenge, no matter the environment. IBS can cause diarrhea, constipation, or both in addition to bloating, pain or discomfort in the abdomen, and excessive flatulence (that’s the $5 word for farting). You may also experience nausea, a general increase in fatigue, and musculoskeletal pains, although there is no clear link or cause. 

Many people with IBS feel that it affects their careers and are unsure how to manage this chronic illness and its variety of symptoms. This guide will explore some of the challenges of managing IBS symptoms in the workplace. I will also cover some communication strategies to use with your employer, how to plan for worsening symptoms, and how to minimize the effects of IBS on your workday. We will also touch on managing stress levels to reduce your IBS symptoms. 

Strategies for Managing IBS Symptoms in the Workplace

When taking control of your IBS, there is a time when you will likely need to decide if you will be disclosing your symptoms. While many people would prefer not to if you need any accommodation for them, you will likely need to do so. To explain what this means, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) describes certain protections that individuals with disabilities are given, which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) essentially explains and makes the regulations regarding. The EEOC resources can help individuals know what accommodations to ask for in specific workplace situations for specific disabilities that the government considers “reasonable.” However, this does not mean your employer must abide by the EEOC suggestion or, if it goes to court, that the legal system would side with the EEOC. However, there is an organization called the “Job Accommodation Network” (JAN), a department of the Office of Disability Employment Policy. They have lists of accommodation ideas for gastrointestinal symptoms/disorders and templates for letters and conversations with employers. 

The other important piece in the communication strategy is your medical provider, who helps you manage your IBS symptoms. Always be completely honest with your provider about your symptoms and concerns, but in this case, they must be aware of your concerns regarding your workplace, how to manage your IBS at work, and how it affects your work. You may be able to adjust your plan of care. Also, suppose you work for a company and are eligible for “Family and Medical Leave,” and your symptoms may cause you to miss time from work. In that case, I recommend you complete and file paperwork for Intermittent Medical Leave.

In the United States, under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you are eligible for leave if you have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and worked at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Intermittent Leave means that you take that leave intermittently for serious health conditions or medical appointments about those conditions as needed, but it protects you from losing your job. 

Planning and Preparation For When It Hits 

As an individual with IBS, you will likely need to come up with ways to manage your symptoms when they worsen. If you have IBS-Diarrhea, then you will likely need to focus on ensuring your access to bathrooms and ensuring that you can take a bathroom break when you need one and do not have to wait for a specified time or someone to relieve you of your work duties. You should check if the bathroom that you use is stocked with toilet paper at the beginning of your workday if it is not regularly stocked. If you are self-conscious about odors and the bathroom is centrally located, you may feel less anxious if you invest in a toilet spray (e.g., “Poo-Pouri”) to mask the smell. 

If you have medications you can take as needed, bring those to work. For constipation or mixed IBS sufferers, you may have increased abdominal pain or bloating. You may want to have some clothing that is less restrictive at the waist for those days. An accommodation may be to have a heating pad or allow access to a microwave to heat a reusable personal heat pack to apply to your abdomen for relief. Making a “flare-up” kit to keep at work or in your vehicle may be worthwhile, depending on your work environment. 

Identifying and Avoiding IBS Triggers in the Workplace 

Unfortunately, IBS is a chronic condition, and individuals learn things that may trigger their symptoms over time. Certain foods and certain situations or stressors trigger their symptoms for most people. Understandably, you would not want to get the largest of large coffees right before an important presentation if that is a trigger for you. 

Since anxiety often triggers symptoms, learning how to decrease stress can be of benefit. Multiple types of grounding, meditation, mindfulness, and deep breathing techniques can be performed quickly in different settings and still benefit you. You may find it beneficial to schedule bathroom breaks throughout the day at an increased frequency to decrease your anxiety about getting to the bathroom in time if one is not always quickly accessible.

Building Resilience: Cultivating a Positive Mindset for Work

I am going to let you in on a secret…. Pretty much everyone poops. Folks with IBS perhaps do it more or less frequently and with more or less pain and discomfort than others, but it is still just poop. I want all the IBS sufferers not to be embarrassed by the symptoms they are forced to endure because of it any more than I am embarrassed about my asthma symptoms. About 15% of the United States population has been diagnosed with IBS, and two out of three are female. However, it is estimated that about 75% of people with IBS have never been formally diagnosed. By talking about discussing, you may lead someone to get the diagnosis and treatment they need.

1. _{Job Accommodation Network (n.d.). Gastrointestinal Disorders. https://askjan.org/disabilities/Gastrointestinal-Disorders.cfm}
2. _{Undseth, R., Berstad, A., & Valeur, J. (2016). Systemic symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome: An investigative study on the role of enterocyte disintegrity, endotoxemia and inflammation. Molecular Medicine Reports, 14(6), 5072-5076. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2016.5878}