Now is the time to set things right: a qualitative study on crafting sustainable careers with a chronic illness

The increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses poses challenges that demand the attention of individuals, managers, organizations, and policymakers. Yet, there is limited exploration of how individuals experiencing chronic illnesses pursue career sustainability. We introduce the concept of bounded career sustainability, characterized by the inclination to prioritize rather than balance multiple indicators of career sustainability (health, happiness, and productivity). Based on 41 semi-structured interviews with individuals living with Type One Diabetes (T1D), the current study examines how individuals living with a chronic illness craft their careers (along task, cognitive, and relational dimensions), with one of the career sustainability indicators taking center stage. We identify three groups of individuals, each following a distinct pathway to bounded career sustainability: Lumineers, Preservers, and Strivers. Our findings reveal that, for these individuals, career sustainability involves actively navigating a pathway that prioritizes what is salient and attainable. Individual and contextual factors jointly shape the boundaries to their career sustainability, highlighting an interactionist perspective. Lastly, we explore how health-related disclosure serves as a mechanism for signaling or communicating one's priorities in the workplace, thereby reinforcing alignment with their respective pathways to bounded career sustainability.