The presentation incorporates lived experience into developing business solutions to support and enable job applicants, candidates, new recruits and existing employees, contractors and temporary staff with disabilities. It includes an overview of my journey with a non-visible disability and its effects on my career and professional life. Real-life workplace situations provide a perspective from the person with the disability.
It forms a part of engagement with executive leadership teams, board members and senior managers, with a view to developing organisation wide strategies that not only fulfil the obligations of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, but create a working environment with improved workforce satisfaction and increased workforce retention rates.
The information content below outlines the development of my disability, my experience in workplaces and the motivation behind establishing and operating a micro consultancy. The format is similar to the presentation, but does not describe business solutions.
Contact me at john@badwater.com.au to arrange a phone or video call to discuss the presentation format, how I can assist your organisation and to arrange an appointment.
Working with a Non-Visible Disability
Overview
The workplace can be challenging for anyone with a disability and everyone's experience is different. Living with a non-visible disability creates situations where the individual is sometimes forced to share personal information in order to receive supports. I have faced this on many occasions, with varying results. The most challenging envionments have been where my manager has either refused to accept that I have a disability, or made decisions on the types of support I could receive. This has occurred without discussing their reasons or asking me to provide information for them to seek professional advice for them to negotiate a suitable solution.
Awareness and Diagnosis
I became aware of a problem with my immune system in my twenties while on holiday. I contracted a virus and suddenly began experiencing symptoms that drained my energy and ability to fully process and retain information. The symptoms didn't go away and I was diagnosed with an untreatable immune system dysfunction.
After several years of stable symptoms, another virus increased the severity of my condition and my employer terminated my employment. Unable to maintain an income, I applied for the Disability Support Pension.
Disability
My disability affects my:
- Immune system
- Central nervous system
- Psychological function
Coming to terms with my reduced functional capacity, I was faced with the idea that I had a disability and would have to adjust my expectations of earning an income while coping with day to day living. I learnt, the hard way, that if others couldn't see my disability, they wouldn't necessarily know, or even believe, that I had one.
Societal Impacts
Strangers make assumptions based on their own opinions of what they observe. No one offers me a seat on public transport and I don't ask as the person in the seat could also have a non-visible disability.
Commuting on public transport is impossible in peak hours. Parking options at work are not always available, especially for contractors.
Looking for Work
Centrelink directs jobseekers with disabilities to Inclusive Employment Australia (formally Disability Employment Services). I have been referred to three providers. I discovered that their focus is on disability rather than qualifications, experience and career goals, with most providers delivering access to entry level positions.
I have had more success with mainstream employment agencies, particularly those that specialise in placing candidates in specific professions. When engaging with mainstream employment agencies, I refrained from sharing information about my disability. I would state that I was only available for part-time permanent or contract roles, or short full-time assignments.
When applying for positions through state government or not-for-profit organisation job sites, I limited myself to part-time roles and stated that I identified as being a person with a disability. This approach did not hinder securing employment, but only limited workplace adjustments were available to me once I was employed.
Entering Employment
Onboarding commences once an offer of employment is made and accepted. This is the time to ensure that the employer is going to deliver on promises or verbal agreements by including disability supports or adjustments in the employment contract.
This is the biggest lesson I have learnt from being an employee. Where support has either been agreed or indicated during the application process, employers have stated that supports will be "worked out" after employment has commenced. This can go two ways, depending on the manager. More often than not, my managers have either negotiated hard to reduce the level of support or refused it altogether.
Workplace Experiences
My career has included permanent, contract and temporary work. Experiences of support for my disability has varied from excellent to appalling.
The best experience was in a temporary role where my manager went above and beyond to ensure that I was coping with the workload and that my health wasn't compromised by deadlines and changing requirements.
The acceptable experience was in a role where I was given the flexibility to work from home two days of my four in the week. The downside was colleagues referring to these as my "days off" and refusing to communicate with me on the days I worked remotely.
The worst experience was a manager who refused to allow adjustments that had been agreed in writing prior to employment. This came with threats of punishment if I did not comply. I was instructed to provide my employer with full access to my personal medical records. My manager went as far as suggesting I contact the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help me deal with the refusal of workplace adjustments and (unmentioned) bullying.
Key Takeaways
Disability employment providers specialise in entry level positions, and do not always have industry expertise to place candidates with specialist skills and experience.
Mainstream recruiters do not encourage candidates with disabilities to apply for positions, or offer adjustments during the application process, even though they are legally obliged to provide them.
Employers may have policies for supporting employees with disabilities, but will leave it to managers to interpret those policies to provide adjustments and other supports to staff with disabilities.
The power imbalance applicants, recruits and employees face, puts them at a disadvantage and many will not request adjustments or supports out of fear of discrimination.
Business Services
I am a sole trader and, proudly, use the first person narrative when providing information about my business. I regard myself as an advisor, not a consultant. My experience includes working within executive leadership teams.
I am open about my disability, and share aspects of my lived experience as part of engagement, to assist executive leadership teams and boards to develop strategies to employ persons with disabilities in senior positions and engage more effectively with their workforce.
I draw on my experience as an accountant, business analyst and data/reporting analyst to analyse workforce data and advise on how to engage and achieve trust from employees to share their disability status and adjustment requirements.
I work with senior staff to design and implement processes for creating workplace adjustment agreements and other supports. This is about turning policy into action and ensuring it becomes business as usual and not just a short term initiative.
Employer Responsibilities Summary
The Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992 applies to employment from the time a position is defined and advertised. It protects applicants, recruits, permanent & temporary staff and contractors.
Employers are required to abide by the Act, including those in the disability sector and open/mainstream employers.
Workplace adjustments must be made available to employees, unless the employer has a reasonable reason not to provide them. This can include severe financial impact on the business and adjustments that are detrimental to other employees.
An employer is entitled to request proof in order to provide adjustments, but the information they receive must not infringe on the employee's right to privacy. If information of a medical nature is provided, the employer must store and retain the information under legislation that applies to medical records.
Employers should not rely on employee satisfaction surveys to determine the proportion of the workforce with disability.