The following are the Preliminary Results of our Migraine in the Workplace Survey as of September 12th, 2024.
About Migraine
Migraine as we know, is a complex, neurological disorder that is classed by the WHO as the second most disabling disease worldwide in years lived with disability (YLDs), but it is the first for women under the age of 50. Steiner TJ, Stovner LJ, Jensen R, Uluduz D, Katsarava Z. Migraine remains second among the world’s causes of disability, and first among young women: findings from GBD 2019. J Headache Pain. 2020;19(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s10194-020-01208-0
Headache is only one of a myriad of symptoms and is not always present. If it is present, it is not always the most disabling symptom the person can experience.
Aside from physical symptoms, many people with migraine experience stigma, guilt, doubt, mental anguish, and social isolation because their symptoms are so disabling they cannot work, join friends or family for a social occasion, or sometimes cannot get out of bed in the morning. They are frequently dismissed as being unsocial, overly dramatic, or using it as an excuse to get out of something.
Unfortunately, our new survey finds that these myths have not yet been busted, but we are working on it.
We have had a huge response to our survey for Employees so far, with over 600 respondents. However the survey will remain open until the end of this month and we will release the final results in October.
Please note: The amount of comments we received was so vast we could not publish them in this instance. Instead, we used word clouds to express them with the most prevalent words from each question. Be assured however that your comments are on file, are being read, and will continue to help us raise awareness of migraine and other primary headache conditions. We will publish some comments when the final results are gathered.
Our Survey
Brief Summary:
You can download the results in a PDF below.
- 25 of the 26 counties responded.
- 86% of respondents were between the ages of 24 and 54
- 96% were female
- 47%, almost half have been living with the burden of Migraine for at least 20 years! Some 10% were living with it for 40 years.
- 66% lived with Episodic Migraine while 34% lived with Chronic Migraine
- 75% of respondents had disclosed their migraine to their employers with mixed results
- 25% did not disclose because of the risk of a negative impact on their career, the misperception of those with migraine, or they had just started a new job and felt it could jeopardise their chances of progressing.
- 92% of respondents disclose to their colleagues and the response again was mixed. Thankfully most people were kind, but very few understood unless they had direct knowledge or experience of Migraine.
- 74% said there were no policies in place for chronic conditions at all.
- 75% of employers do not offer accommodations in the workplace, but 25% did. These accommodations included dark rooms/areas to rest and recuperate, extra breaks, changing lighting, offering remote working options.
- 70% say migraine has had a direct impact on their career. That’s not having to change career, but lost opportunities for promotions due to bad sick leave or attendance record, etc.
If you would like to download a copy of these preliminary results which contains more detail, please click here Preliminary Results September 2024
The comments we received were vast, so we chose to display them as word clouds where the most important words would stand out, You will find the in the downloadable PDF above.
The survey is still open, here is the link if you would like to take it. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QL87BKY
The results of the survey are the experiences and opinions of those who took part. Each case is different, the results may not reflect your own experiences.
These results are preliminary as stated and the final results may differ.
These results do not necessarily represent the views or experiences of the Migraine Association of Ireland.