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October 14, 2008
Ross’s Disillusionment
Although visually impaired, Ross often finds he's recognized by strangers as a sighted person.
Yet, during the last six years, he has hopped from job to job in the information technology field, mostly in customer service. He says he just hasn't been able to stay in one place very long because "something always seems to happen and it doesn't work out."
He further writes:
"I don't expect my co-workers to accept me in the workplace. They have "no concern" about the disabled. None. State advocates tell me, "Tell them you are visually impaired." This statement is viewed as an admission of guilt that I have a problem -- a problem (blindness) that they fear. Other co-workers do not have a problem. Such an admission allows others to disregard my human qualities and make every attempt to disallow my right to be employed or even befriended... They can then view me as different -- and less -- than they are."
He says he can't stand "being treated like a fragile child" in a workplace where the common assumption is that "I'm unable to do anything without assistance from a sighted helper" -- even when walking a customer through a computer problem by telephone.
In short, Ross is disillusioned by today's work world. Ross's case study is a mixture of truth and fiction, but the quotes are from real people eSight has collected over the years.
His situation reminds me of Amy Ruel's statement during last week's discussion about the film, "Blindness." She wrote:
"I hope that (employers) will take every opportunity to challenge their own private fears and misconceptions and obtain accurate information about the range of capabilities that we blind people, like our sighted peers, possess."
I know it's difficult, but we, as job seekers with a disability, have a responsibility, too.
We need to savor what is going well in our lives and, at the same time, plug away at the work needed to accomplish a specific feat -- such as landing a meaningful job.
Focusing on one or more special needs not normally required of non-disabled folks and still achieving that internal balance can give someone who is disabled the resilience and confidence employers need in today's turbulent business environment.
And knowing how to craft solutions for disabled-based problems can be transferred to a work situation and help a work team develop the elasticity it needs today to compete on a global scale.
The bottom line: Our individual vulnerabilities are valuable -- to our society as well as to individual organizations and companies -- because they stretch our ability to be adaptable as human beings.
In the competitive business world, that kind of reasoning is often lost. An all able-bodied workforce, for instance, can become flabby in terms of creativity and problem-solving, precisely because it lacks diversity and does not include individuals who look at opportunities just a little bit differently than the rest of us.
With that larger view in mind, how would you respond to Ross's specific situation?
The following four eSight articles will give you some ideas.
Share the Load: You Don't Have to Be the Weakest Link Due to Your Disability
Creative Survivors Add Elasticity to Your Workforce
Hire People Who Resolve 'Easy Mark' Situations for Themselves
What to Expect From a Job Candidate Who Has Emotional Intelligence About Disability
What tips do you have for Ross which would help him find the right job situation?
Add your comments to this posting
Posted by Jim Hasse at October 14, 2008 03:12 PM
Comments
Ross risks more by trying to hide his visual impairment than if he addressed the potential problems he anticipates proactively.
Namely, that his vision impairment will announce itself without his having prepared the way. As his coworkers will nnot know about it, they will assume any problems that come up because of it are simply some defect in Ross's work or character. They will resent him all the same, but not learn anything about how a person with a disability solves problems.
If instead Ross was matter of fact about his visual impairment and showed confidence and optimism about it he will set the stage for others' reactions. People ttake their cues from us. If we are suspicious, uncomfortable, whiny or aggressive they will react to those behaviors as much as to the impairment itself. It sounds to me as if Ross is himself rather hostile. One wonders if even if he never disclosed his vision loss he would be alone because he has determined that is his only choice.
It is human nature that when someone has a chip on their shoulder someone will reach out and give it a push.
Nan Hawthorne www.shield-wall.com
Posted by: Nan Hawthorne at October 15, 2008 01:46 PM
P.S. Another article to list relevant to this topic is the one about "Workplace Interdependence".
Nan
Posted by: Nan Hawthorne at October 15, 2008 01:48 PM
What an unfortunate commentary on what's clearly missing in most companies. Those who have demanding & competitive hiring needs are more likely to realize that there are already FAR too few skilled employees. Missing out on everyone who is in some way different could eventually cripple companies from attracting the very talent they need to run their businesses.
I'm in HR, in the Staffing function more specifically, in a high-tech company that is continually rated as one of the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work. It's also a technology-centric environment where we're creating and delivering a very complex product in a competitive niche.
From this vantage point, I see that we must have top-performers with the right mix of professional and/or technical skills to contribute to our success. We hire the skills we need without regard to race, gender, ethnicity or physical challenges. This is "knowledge work" and if you have the knowledge and skills, then we really need you to contribute those. I'll also note that we don't have any programs around this or any other diversity initiatives, it's simply good business.
We happen to have an HR business partner who is mostly deaf, a course developer who is legally blind, engineers who travel by wheelchair, and others whose disabilities are less visible. Any accommodations that might be requested would be a nit compared to not being able to hire the skills we need. Everyone's accepted because they share the common knowledge and skills to be here. As an added bonus, those of us who are currently able-bodied also benefit from knowing that should something ever happen to us, we'll still be accepted and valued by our employer as well.
Find a company that understands that business is about brain power not physical abilities. Running a successful company isn't an athletic event, it's a competition that requires brilliant minds, creative ability, innovation, personal interaction, strategic thinking and intellectual expertise. Those skills are MOST valuable, and will come in lots of different packages.
Suffice it to say that smart is more important than able-bodied. And, we'll take our smart people however they happen to come. As the market tightens for skills, I believe that other companies will realize this as well.
Posted by: Michele at October 15, 2008 01:52 PM
I tend to agree with Nan. I'm not sure it's Ross' coworkers who have the problem about his "blindness", I think it's more Ross hasn't accepted his disability and is displacing his fear and loathing and non-acceptance onto everyone else. It's his bad attitude about himself and his disability that walks into every job and makes it difficult for him. I would suggest he find a good therapist, perhaps one who has a disability and start working with him/her and learn to accept himself first and foremost. I think Ross has a terrible lack of positive self -esteem. Read my self-esteem articles.
How we treat ourselves and react to our disabilities gives people an indicator in many circumstances how to treat us , as disabled people.
Ross seems to be finding offense where perhaps there hasn't been any.
People with disabilities are not fragile children and if anyone treated me as such I'd be so in their face they wouldn't have a face afterward. I am a competent , hard working , enthusiastic older woman, who happens to be legally blind from birth. My disability has been a curse but it's also made me the woman I am , compassionate, understanding and empathetic to those with all kinds of limitations, be they physical, emotional, societal.
Have no idea how old Ross is , but he's got to be more up front about his needs as well as his strengths and lose the fragile child attitude fast.
Posted by: Liz S at October 16, 2008 10:24 AM