I’m definitely not arguing workplaces should be more understanding of chronic conditions, but signing a pledge doesn’t seem to do much of anything. Legal protections exist for people with disabilities and chronic conditions for a reason, but this seems to be a campaign spreading the idea that working after being diagnosed with cancer is in the best interest of the individual battling cancer.

In reality, people battling cancer or any chronic illness seem to have better outcomes if they continue to have a sense of purpose during treatment, but a sense of purpose does not have to be inherently tied to employment status.

Given that this is an advertisement company with a documented history of peddling harmful corporate propaganda (fueling the opioid crisis, whitewashing detention centers for children) as well as a reputation for mistreating their employees, this really comes off as more typical (for them) corporate propaganda aimed at normalizing people pushing themselves to keep working until their bodies physically can’t keep going.

Interesting but definitely not unrelated sidenote given this company’s history: States like W.V. and PA were hit especially hard by the opioid epidemic much earlier than the rest of the U.S. because pharmaceutical companies targeted coal mining areas with similar propaganda. They knew people there commonly suffered debilitating back injuries while working in the mines, and peddled prescription opiates as a solution that would allow people to continue working pain free even after being injured.