When you have a disability, working is a topic of its own. Beyond the question of whether you’ll be able to work, there’s the more pragmatic question of accessibility at work. It takes different forms: With a wheelchair, making work inclusive logically involves architectural accessibility. But, perhaps more importantly, it’s also a question of mindset on the part of the employer.
Making the workplace physically accessible
First of all, you need to be able to enter the building:
- If there are steps and no ramp at the entrance, well, accessibility is not really a topic…
- The front door can sometimes be a challenge if it’s heavy and not automatic. This was the case during one of my internships: it was simply impossible for me to open the door on my own, which I resolved by ringing the bell. An automatic door would certainly have been simpler.
You might think that once you’re in an accessible building, a wheelchair is usually no problem. But there can be other, more insidious obstacles:
- Non-accessible toilets, or even more ironically, accessible toilets that serve as storage for anything and everything and are therefore no longer accessible…
- Heavy doors inside the building – even if colleagues are usually willing to help.
- Desks unsuited to the height of the wheelchair – the ideal being height-adjustable desks, which benefit everyone, not just the employees with a disability.
The little extra that makes all the difference: rolling into a meeting room and seeing that a chair has already been removed for me. This happens frequently at my current workplace. It’s so simple, but it shows a real concern for inclusion.
One obstacle I hadn’t thought of before using a wheelchair: standing networking events with high tables. When you’re the only one sitting, when people talk “down” to you without being able to do otherwise, and when the tables are the height of your head, it’s not ideal… If there are chairs or sofas, I ask people if they can sit down to talk to me. And not necessarily at the only low table specially reserved for people with reduced mobility – it’s well-intentioned, but you feel a bit like a child who has been punished…
Adapting work organization for true inclusion
Accessibility at work is not just a question of architecture: it also includes organizational adaptations.
First lever: the much-debated teleworking. Before COVID, getting a day of home office per week could turn into an obstacle course. Since the pandemic, things have changed. Today, I appreciate the balance between being in the office and home office: it allows me to stay connected with colleagues, attend meetings in person, while also having calmer days, with no commuting, and the ability to manage my energy more easily.
The second essential lever: flexible working hours. Being able to work a shorter day when the battery is low, or to attend a medical appointment, is invaluable. Conversely, being able to work longer when possible allows me to adapt to the needs of the team, or just to make faster progress on current projects. This flexibility makes work more inclusive and truly adapted to the specific needs linked to disability, whether invisible or visible.
Finally, and this is often the hardest thing to ask for, you need respect and trust from your employer. Respect for my specific needs, but without pity. My identity should not be reduced to my disability. I don’t want to be hired to fill a quota or because it looks “good” for the company’s inclusion policy, but for the skills and expertise I bring. Confidence in the fact that I can do my job if my needs are taken into account, that my disability isn’t an obstacle to me doing my job well.
Accessibility at work is more than just a ramp. Asking for accommodation is not always easy: between the fear of being perceived as demanding or disturbing, and the need to make it clear that these are not whims… But they’re really not whims: they’re just accessible working conditions. The most important thing is open and transparent communication on the part of both employer and employee. At the end of the day, successful accessibility is not just about adapted infrastructures, but also about an inclusive mindset. And that changes everything!
Picture by Joey Banks on Unsplash
If you want to support and promote my blog, do not hesitate to buy one of my books: Un bac sous perfusion (disponible en format papier et en e-book) ou Wheelchair hop on hop off (also available in paper format and as an e-book).