Meg O’Connell, CEO Global Disability Inclusion, award winning inclusion expert. Offering disability inclusion strategies & leadership.
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It’s October, the beginning of fall, the time when trick or treaters will visit our homes and we begin to get ready for the holiday season. For people with disabilities, it is also the time of year we recognize and celebrate disability employment. It is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Companies conduct trainings, bring in guest speakers and conduct countless lunch-and-learns to educate employees on the contributions of people with disabilities.
But what we don’t talk about or give much attention to is the employee experience of those with disabilities. Over the past two years, the world of work has been turned upside down. The one-size-fits-all model where every employee is treated the same, and every employee receives the same benefits, does not work anymore and will no longer be accepted as part of the employment contract.
Our work environments have shifted. Our expectations of how we are treated at work are radically different, where and how we work will be forever changed, and everyone is having conversations about mental health.
The rise of the individualized experience or agile customization is emerging. Employees are demanding their individual experiences are recognized and supported. The influences of this movement have been coming over the past two years — #MeToo, George Floyd, anti-Asian hate crimes, remote work, homeschooling, concerns for elder care, mental health and safety in the workplace. Employees are burned out and the events of the past few years have highlighted the fact that the world was operating in a way that really wasn’t working for most of us. Yet, as we enter into the new world of work, we must not forget about the employee experiences of those with disabilities: our largest diversity group, and the one that gets the least amount of attention.
Companies must understand how the ecosystem of work life and home life exists for people with disabilities. As we rise to create better experiences for all employees, we must ensure people with disabilities are not left out of the conversation but rather have 1 in 4 seats at the table (1 in 4 people has a disability) to make our future workplaces work for them too.
A recent survey our firm conducted in partnership with Mercer shows on average employees with disabilities are significantly less satisfied than their non-disabled colleagues. Of the six key categories surveyed — leadership, equity, achievement, opportunity, management and overall engagement — people with disabilities did not score higher than those without disabilities in any category. On some questions, the gap was 12% or 13% — a stark difference. According to Mercer, a call to action is a 5% difference.
So as companies explore the cafeteria-style menu options for employee benefits that include things like remote work, hybrid work schedules, childcare support, elder care support, four-day workweeks and mental health resources, we must be sure to add items that will improve disability employment.
Here are three best practices to creating more disability-inclusive environments:
1. Accessibility: Every employer and employee must have a deep understanding of accessibility features and how to use them. Making documents accessible, using captioning during meetings and creating the ability to request an accommodation or job aid should be standard practice and not something special.
2. Change interviewing practices: Behavioral interviewing can exclude people rather than include them. The nuances of behavioral interviewing questions don’t work for everyone. A candidate who is very literal or on the Autism spectrum may not understand the nuance of a question and what you really want to hear. If you see you are not getting what you want or need from a candidate, shift your interviewing style. Go to a “just the facts” approach. Have multiple ways to truly assess candidates. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work here.
3. Disability disclosure: We have learned a lot from the LGBTQ+ community about being loud and proud. Their movement has made tremendous progress by focusing on representation, identity and leadership. We need leaders with disabilities to stand up, speak up and share your stories. Whether you are a leader who uses a wheelchair or has epilepsy, MS or dyslexia, we need your voice to help educate others that disability does not mean inability.
Our work environments are dramatically changing, and we must ensure they are evolving with everyone in mind and creating practices and programs that make our new world of work diverse and inclusive.
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