As an NDIS provider on the Gold Coast, we spend a lot of time helping people with disabilities live independent and active lives. It is always interesting to see how access to work is changing, and largely for the positive. However, a new trend of working from home is not always the best way to help someone with disabilities take on a role within your business.
Pandemic
The global pandemic because of Covid 19 proved that working from home was actually more accessible than we initially realised. Any employee could work from home with the right set-up, and it proved invaluable at a time when we were locked down and unable to move freely around. It also enabled some employers to claim that they had made steps towards opening up their job vacancies to those who had difficulty accessing offices. In much the same way as some employees thrived in work from home environment and never wanted to go back to the office again, the same is true for those with disabilities, and we should not assume that this is the solution to ensuring employers create accessible vacancies. While it should be an option on offer to any member of staff regardless of physical need, it should not be seen as a catch-all solution.
There Are Some Benefits
In a positive light, the Economic Innovation Group have been able to demonstrate that more people with disabilities have now found work because of the ability to work from home. For example, not all buildings can easily be adapted for wheelchair access, some employees might find public transport difficult to navigate and sadly, there is still a culture of discrimination both from co-workers and management. So with this in mind, home-working can create the perfect environment for some employees, but it should not be the only way.
Mental Health Issues
Irrespective of whether an employee has a disability or not, attention needs to be focused on mental health. For 26% of people questioned in a UK survey by instant offices, the fact that they could work from home as a disabled person improved their mental health. However, 30% of disabled employees said that working from home had a detrimental effect on their mental health. 34% of those questioned also said that they did not have the proper equipment at home and therefore did not feel like a proper employee or team player. 9% said using online software for meetings was also a challenge. The biggest issue that was raised by over 60% of participants was social interaction. It can be very isolating to work alone from home, and even brief conversations or just having others working in the same office can really improve people’s mental health as this element of interaction is vital for some people. Social isolation is a massive problem for those with disabilities as they are often excluded from many everyday activities that others may take for granted, so it is vital that employers remember that while working from home is a positive and valuable step, it is not the answer for every disabled employee.