Australian Employers Network on Disability

Part 2: In part two of their interview Mark and Tim speak about disability from an employer´s perspective, common misconceptions that students might have, and how to better prepare for the workplace environment.

Mark: We always advise graduates that they need to understand that somebody only really needs to know about a particular disability if there´s particular adjustments that they´d require to be productive at work. People often don´t understand the legislation and the employers will to do the right thing in this area. People think they need to out of honesty disclose everything about themselves and that´s not the case, so it´s important we all know that we´ve got control of our own information. And these employers want to be really good at it, so they only really want to know about a person´s disability or personal information if it actually affects how they do the job. The bottom line here is employers don´t want to assume that a disability means different things, they only want to make sure a person can fulfil the inherent requirements of the job and survive and thrive in their organisation. So I guess that´s the important thing, that disclosure´s only really needed when you´re actually requiring a particular adjustment.

How willing are employers to modify the workplace for an employee with a disability?

Mark: They´re very willing to do it. Most modifications are incredibly simple things that people need. It might be as simple as someone whose job was all around different companies in town having cab charge vouchers to get to the office quickly if they have difficulty walking or moving around. Some of the adjustments are incredibly complex though, so for example some ?Stepping Into Law´ interns require equipment because of their vision impairment and employers are really willing to see how those adjustments work. And we often assist to make sure it´s a very smooth process so that everything´s in place when people start their internship. So employers are willing to do the simple things and are absolutely willing to have a go at things that might be a little more complex, and all employers are willing to have those actions on their facilities plans.

How about outside of the program? Lots of the larger companies have resources and policies and programs in place, but how does a graduate approach a smaller company?

Mark: Most employers I think are really willing to give people a go. But we all need to be very solution-focused these days. When we´re looking for work and developing our careers, to actually be able to give employers solutions. One of the biggest things that people should know is about the equipment or things that actually do make a difference to them. And sometimes we´re not aware of all the things that are available. It´s important that students can actually tell a small employer about Job Access, which is a government program that actually provides the adjustments and modifications for people and it fully funds those things. So for a small employer it means that they´ve got access to an expert assessment for their potential new employee, and they´ve actually got access to funds to buy all of the adjustments that are needed. So those can actually be fixed equipment, like a zoom text reader for a computer that helps people with a vision impairment, or it actually might be interpreter services for someone with a hearing impairment or someone who is deaf, so for example at important meetings there´s an Auslan interpreter available. So I think that´s a very important solution to be able to take to employers and say, ?these are the things that help me, and in fact there´s actually funding and expert assessments available from the government for these things.?

So how can a graduate with a disability best market themselves?

Mark: I think at sometimes we´re not very good at promoting ourselves to an employer. And I think that showing that you know about the organisation and you´re very enthusiastic, they´re sort of core things to get across. Employers are often very interested in what someone´s experiences can bring to the company as well. Companies are very interested in the perspective that women can bring to a company, they´re very interested in the perspective that older people can bring to a company, and companies are very interested in the perspective that people with a disability can bring to their organisations as well. Sometimes that experience translates into customer service for their customers who may have a disability. Sometimes it translates into human competence.

Tim: The strange kind of benefits, I call it the ?unfair advantage´ to disability, and I shouldn´t call it that, but it´s where your experience of having a disability can actually give you a unique perspective and a unique set of skills and a unique story which is of enormous value to employers.

Can you give any further advice to graduates with disabilities when entering and settling into the workplace?

Mark: I think that any workplace has its culture and norms and you have to be very open to learning about that, I think that´s advice you´d give anybody starting in a company. People actually do a lot of their learning at work informally. So often people with disabilities have to negotiate people´s curiosity, especially if they´ve got a very visible disability. But be willing to share information. Often your colleagues working with you, it might be the only opportunity they´ve actually had to learn about disability and to actually work with someone with a disability. You actually need to know that in some ways you´re actually a little bit of a learning opportunity for people, which can sometimes be a difficult thing, but be aware that you´re actually adding to the organisation. And in fact you´re probably increasing the confidence of other employees around disability. As with all workplaces, having a sense of humour and having a bit of courage, and being articulate about your story is an important thing for other employees. It´s a bit of a tall order, asking people to be doing a little of informal education really, but you find that people do value that. We would also say to be aware of boundaries. You shouldn´t be the only source of information about disability in an organisation. Hopefully the organisation´s taken other steps to ensure staff are disability confident and disability aware. But in some ways you are a bit of a reservoir of information for people, and that people do learn informally at work through their interactions with you, that´s actually an important thing to know.

Tim: If we talk just for a second about the employers, I think we´ve emerged pretty well from the dark ages of discrimination, fortunately, in Australia and we´re now on another journey. And most of the employers in Australia are on a very bold journey of moving to become more inclusive in their workplaces for people with a variety of diverse backgrounds, including people with a disability.