To want to understand how disabled MNers manage to be employed?

Autism, anxiety, chronic migraines, and airborne allergies that make being around people risky and difficult.

I got an excellent education and made myself highly in demand before my allergies got so bad that it was hard to be out and about. I now wfh exclusively. I negotiated part-time flexible hours so I can work around my medical
issues. They don’t really care when I work as long as the work gets done. I try not to miss critical meetings.

It surely depends hugely on the job and the disability/s?

I work in IT. I've worked with a guy in a wheelchair - he could do everything except one or two bits of physical work with handling computer hardware. He did once go for an interview where there was no step-free access to the building, which they failed to mention beforehand

I've had/have a number of deaf colleagues who are usually fine with hearing aids. One has a cochlear implant. Sometimes you just have to remember to speak to their better side, or where they can see your face.

I have a friend who is blind, and is a department head in a secondary school. I think it's very pertinent that he became blind as an adult, and already had an established career record. I think it would have been a very different story were he starting from scratch in his career. He's currently in the private sector and they happily coughed up for some very swish tech to read documents (even handwritten ones) for him. It has made things more accessible for him - and it cost money that the state sector just couldn't spend. When he was last applying for jobs, there were schools he declined, because they weren't as accommodating. He's also been quite upset at points when his remaining sight has declined further and he could no longer make out children's faces and so on.

I don't know about colleagues with mental health issues. I probably have worked with some, but I haven't been aware of a formal diagnosis, and as I'm not HR nor their line manager, why should I? I am I a particularly techy area of IT, and I suspect quite a few colleagues over the years may be autistic, but I'm not aware of any with a formal diagnosis - but again,why shoukd I be?

I think physical but mostly stable conditions are probably easier to accommodate. It's the ones which flare up, or cause burnout, meaning attendance is less predictable which is more challenging for employers; it's easier to manage a team when absences are planned, not like having a team member where you're never sure if they'll be in that day. Conditions affecting mental ability will also restrict the sorts of jobs possible for someone - many jobs do require staff to have a certain level of intelligence.

Larger organisations are probably more able to be more flexible as a general rule, because if you've got hundreds of staff, you've got more options in terms of hours, job shares, physical and mental abilities. A staff of five usually means you just can't change much and still cover your operating hours, but it does still depend on the exact job/business and particular role. A guy with one arm might not manage well in a physical warehouse role, but would be fine in accounting (assuming he's had the relevant training.)

But I think slso, there's still a lot of prejudice out there. There will be employers who don't want yo put in a wheelchair ramp or won't see how more flexible working patterns could benefit the business, not just the employee.Or they're making assumptions about reliability and attendance or just about (in)ability to do the job, or don't want to bother with perceived extra paperwork etc.Not that they'll necessarily say that overtly, EA2010 and all - "the other candidate just haf more relevant experience," etc.

@JobhuntingDespair I might be wrong, but I think those who are suggesting you aren't genuine possibly suspect that you're in fact a Daily Fail journo trying to get case studies to show why disabled people don't need benefits. As the parent if an autistic young adult, and very likely neurospicy myself, I didn't read that into your post at all, it read as someone autistic trying to get help understanding a very confusing world at an even more confusing time.

I have a sleep disorder, Arthritis and Fibromyalgia. For many years the biggest barrier to work was actually my child as it was difficult to get a diagnosis for them and they really struggled at school due to being very academically able so lots of "there's nothing wrong with them" while their mental health plummeted thanks to lack of social understanding. Now they're older (and I am!), my own disabilities are the bigger issue.

What sort of role are you in, and is this influenced by disability? (Eg. physical disability so avoid manual work.)
Charity shop manager. Yes, my qualifications are in business and I worked as an office manager before moving into care work when I needed to work nights as it meant I could home educate. I had to leave carework because the arthritis made it difficult and an operation to reduce the pain left me unable to write for a long time and I still can't do buttons or some zips! I couldn't go back to admin roles because of the arthritis.

What sort of reasonable adjustments do you find the most helpful? And how easy was it to get these?
It's the kind of job where I can create them myself to a certain extent, mostly because its not part of a big chain with set in stone rules, and because I was employed to set the shop up. For example, we have hangers with twisty hooks because that way I don't have to take clothes off and turn them around if they are going on a rail that faces the opposite way, I just twist the hook. I'm the kind of person to find work arounds myself for most things, I have specialist keyboard and mouse provides by access to work that make it more comfortable to use the laptop and I buy special pens for myself. I have an excellent physio/ot via the NHS so access to various supports to help. I think more people need to know 'access to work' scheme exists as they can make a huge difference.

Were you disabled when you became employed, or later so had already proved your worth to employer?
Yes, already disabled

If you were already disabled, what led up to your current role - eg. did you have to get qualifications? Experience elsewhere? And how did you financially support yourself during this time?
I volunteered in a charity shop when I had to stop care work and was recovering from the op. A paid position came up and the manager asked me to apply. She persuaded me that we could make the reasonable adjustments I needed so I agreed. When she left she recommended me for her job. I declined as the sleep disorder means I need to work part time. After a few months and no replacement for her I was asked by senior management to do it as a secondment and as 4 days not 5. I agreed and did that for 9 months before then leaving to go to my current job.

How did you manage to pass the probationary period or avoid being managed out for performance/time off sick?
Time off sick isn't an issue if I work part time. They were aware of my issues so my performance meets expectations.

Do you have large CV gaps due to your disability, and if so how have you explained/managed these?
Yes, 18 months out as I had two operations a year apart and couldn't work between. I put that on my CV and did volunteer work in that time so it's not an actual gap just a paid employment gap.

How did you convince an employer to give you a chance, to get a foot in the door of a suitable job?
Volunteering first to show I could do it. I now have many volunteers who have come to me in similar situations to my own, we've helped them build confidence and they've gone on to jobs elsewhere. One is now my assistant. Being disabled myself means I understand the difficulties and we are known to be a very disability and neurodivergence inclusive team.

Just wanted to say as a parent of two disabled children that this thread is inspirational.

I need to retrain from what I do public facing with no Flexibility to soemthing with some wfh or flexibility.

Is love ideas and to know what people on here are doing. I'm autistic and get very tired. I'd love to be 3-4 days a week. Most jobs I look at retraining in require 5 days a week., I wish I'd got it right first time. High iq/good degrees. Struggling to find a new job.

I have a very small business with three employees plus myself. Two have accommodations for disabilities.

I needed no convincing to take them on, they were the best candidates for the job. I don’t want to be too specific, but all my employees have higher education and relevant qualifications and do further courses each year for professional development.

time off for appointments, child emergencies etc is given to all without using holiday, sick time, owed time.

adaptations include wheelchair access. Equipment and software to make documents accessible for someone with visual impairment. Lots of environmental care is taken that there are no trip hazards, plenty of space for a wheelchair, break facilities being completely accessible, things than most places should have anyway.

facilities to keep a service dog comfortable for the day.

we have an extremely flexible working arrangement, because disability is not linear and some weeks more accommodations are needed than others.

the only thing I wouldn’t have adapted is the need for the person I took on the be able to do the job, everything else we can work through.

in return, I have a lovely work environment with people who will always go the extra mile if they can, and have been with me for a really long time now, and will hopefully never leave!

Maybe technically, but I don't consider myself disabled in any way.

What do you do? Could I do this?

If you have autism, then you are disabled. The fact you have burnout and months off work is proof of that.

My close friend is blind. He works full time in some sort of public sector policy writing role.

he has screen readers for computer work, and a guide dog to help him get to the office when he needs to.

1. What sort of role are you in, and is this influenced by disability? (Eg. physical disability so avoid manual work.) - Middle management type role. It's not influenced by my disability (neurodivergent) - quite a lot of it is out of my comfort zone but I've been working full time for 30 years so I have masking down to a fine art.
2. What sort of reasonable adjustments do you find the most helpful? And how easy was it to get these? Understanding from my manager that I may need some information presented in different ways or to have time to process things. I am lucky in that since my diagnosis I have had experienced and sympathetic managers,
3. Were you disabled when you became employed, or later so had already proved your worth to employer? I was, but I wasn't diagnosed until my 40s.
4. If you were already disabled, what led up to your current role - eg. did you have to get qualifications? Experience elsewhere? And how did you financially support yourself during this time? N/A
5. How did you manage to pass the probationary period or avoid being managed out for performance/time off sick? By the skin of my teeth, to be frank. I was horrendously bullied for the first year or so in work as I didn't get any of the unwritten rules or know how to interact and read the room, and it impacted my performance. I somehow hung in there and eventually learned how to cope and slowly began to climb the ladder.
6. Do you have large CV gaps due to your disability, and if so how have you explained/managed these? No, I have been working continuously since university.
7. How did you convince an employer to give you a chance, to get a foot in the door of a suitable job? I went in at the very bottom. My full time salary was about £6500 when I started work (no min wage back then) which was low even for the 1990s.

Yes! And I had completely forgotten that: because I had taken it for granted. If I was a single parent or my husband wasn’t so hands on, or if I didn’t have a decent paid job that allowed the funds to outsource then it would be a different story.

I'm not disabled but I do have autism and can't cope with full-time work. Every attempt has led to severe burnout, several months off, and medication.

I run my own dog-walking and pet-sitting business part-time and have been doing that for just over five years now. I do around 5-6 hours per day and never work evenings or weekends unless by choice. DH has ADHD and also runs his own business. We don't have children and between us we manage fine.

I have bipolar disorder and EUPD. I wasn't diagnosed until 2023 but they think it was triggered in 2020.
I work part time. Luckily I've been with the same company for 13 years and they've been really good about me taking time off while my medication has been tweaked. I did however have to move areas as I'm in an operational role and my old role included heavy machinery which I'm not allowed to operate until I'm "stable on my medication" aka no episodes or medication changes for over a year. When I moved I went from full time to part time as it's shift work and part time offered regular hours rather than me being all over the place.
I highly doubt that if I lost my job anyone else would be willing to take me on with my sickness record though

That is another thing isnt it. You need some support outside of work.

Oh. I should have mentioned, I also have an amazing husband who does more than his fair share of the house stuff and child related stuff. We outsource a lot of stuff (cleaning, dog walking, ironing, gardening) and on the days that I’m well, I batch cook, so we always have healthy food in the freezer to easily cook.

i am aware that I’m very fortunate

I have transient aphasia and chronic migraines. (Also T2 diabetes and MH issues, but currently they don’t really impact me).

the only reason I still work is that I’ve been fortunate enough to work in IT: so I can work from home and work part time flexibly, AND I’ve had supportive line managers who have stuck up for me wrt working from home and working part time flexible hours.

i have migraines 3-4 times a week for 2 weeks a month. The other 2 weeks tends to only be 1 or 2 migraines per week. Because I work from home, I can log off for a few hours and make the hours back later when I feel better later in the day.

the aphasia is awful though. I sometime babble, stutter, forget words, shout (because I’m trying to get words out). Earlier in the year I delivered training remotely to the entire company of 300 people over Teams (over several sessions). At the start of each session I briefly mention that I have speech issues which happen sporadically, and it’s nothing to be concerned about (nor is it a sign of being incompetent or nervous). Thankfully people tend to be understanding

Dh now disabled after heart surgeries and high degree of heart failure. Used to working residential childcare but had to give it up. Now works in a call centre but full time hours proving to be too much,so now part time on advice of occupational health.

This thread has been interesting. It is great some many people have understanding employers.

I am waiting for a post from someone who has been out of work for years and years, no qualifications, and got an entry level role at middle age.

Oh yes, I absolutely wouldn't be able to do what I do if I didn't have DP here to cook, tidy up (or at least be constantly prompted to do those things as he's Autistic and does not see tasks, needs lists.. ugh), do the physical stuff.

Without him I'd live in the same clothes, not wash, stay upstairs most of the time (I can do my own stairs once or twice but not often and the accessible toilet is upstairs), and I'd just eat snacks once a day probably. Not a great nor a productive existence!

@JobhuntingDespair I have a chronic health condition which I was diagnosed with as a teenager. I’ve always worked part time, currently 21hrs a week, working predominantly from home. I work in the charity sector which is usually more flexible but obviously doesn’t pay as much as private. I have flexible hours so start later than most and my work is mainly computer based. my health has significantly impacted my ability to progress in my career and that’s something I’ve had to come to terms with. Competency and experience wise I could be much further ahead on the career ladder but I have to be realistic about what is sustainable.

By getting the balance right I’ve managed to avoid excessive amounts of time off. I was signed off for a couple of months a couple of years ago but this was tied in with excessive work stress and a voluntary redundancy so my cv gap isn’t actually that long. I don’t claim any benefits as my DH works full time.

I do have a degree but this is unrelated to my field of work. I don’t have any specific qualifications but Ive gained experience through my working life.

I have adhd which is currently unmedicated. And a number of other ongoing health issues. I work FT in a senior leadership role. It helps that I'm "the boss" because I can shape things around my needs to some extent. Many of my team have disabilities to varying degrees - physical disabilities, long term mental health issues, neurodivergence etc. And some who don't have disabilities themselves have caring responsibilities etc. We all have our own unique needs and lives outside of work etc.

I'm pretty flexible as an employer. My bottom line is that someone needs to be able to do the job, but I am more than happy to make adjustments/buy equipment/work flexibly etc if that is what the person needs to do the job effectively.

I have a physical disability plus some more which came on with age. My tip is to look for large employers who are more likely to HR and OH health to keep managers in line. Or ones who participate in "back to work" schemes. Small businesses can be great, but more often can't afford to be as flexible or generous with support sadly.

Sick leave is no issue, anything disability related doesn't count for attendance targets anywherei have worked. You need to develop an expertise or experience in something you can do regardless of your disability. And age will count against you, so stay employed or get back to work now, as you'll never get any younger.