The workplace can play an important role in helping to normalize type 1 diabetes for employees living with the condition and those whose children may be diagnosed, said Michael Vallis, psychologist and associate professor of family medicine at Dalhousie University, during a session supported by Sanofi Canada during Benefits Canada’s 2026 Chronic Disease at Work conference.
Type 1 diabetes, which represents about five to 10 per cent of all diabetes cases, is an autoimmune disease that requires lifelong use of insulin. For people living with the condition, it can have a tremendous burden, said Vallis, who’s also an affiliate research scientist at Nova Scotia Health.
People with type 1 diabetes also deal with significant stigma around their condition, which causes distress about needing to manage it in public. His own research found 92 per cent of Canadians with type 1 diabetes and 68 per cent of people with type 2 had experienced stigma around their condition.
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If people don’t feel comfortable managing their diabetes in the workplace, it “will contribute to poor control and to negative outcomes” such as hyperglycaemia, said Vallis, when there’s too much sugar in their blood.
“Workplaces are the ideal context to normalize diabetes and to support self-management,” he added, noting supportive managers are especially crucial in fostering a welcoming workplace for people with the condition. “The role that [they] play in managing these conditions is tremendously beneficial.”
For people whose children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, the experience can be highly traumatic, he said. It’s often diagnosed after an incident of hyperglycemia and cases of “life-threatening” diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis are quite common: without insulin, the body begins to break down fat as fuel and, as a result, acids called ketones form in the bloodstream.
“Just imagine if you or your family member was diagnosed with a life-threatening emergency. Not only is it dangerous, but it’s also very much a trauma.”
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Vallis encouraged employers and managers looking to support employees dealing with type 1 diabetes to “acknowledge, empathize and normalize” with those colleagues instead of immediately jumping in with advice. Listening to their perspective, summarizing it back to them to make sure they feel understood and asking permission to work with them and share solutions is a “tried and true relationship style,” he said.
“As a psychologist in diabetes, the issues I would get called in on would be like, ‘Our people need more motivation.’ I’d like you to reframe that from, do people need more motivation or do people need more support than they have?”
Read more coverage of the 2026 Chronic Disease at Work conference.