I wish there was an "it's complicated" option for disability questions

[blossomt]

When I fill in surveys or equal opportunities forms etc, I don't think I can really answer yes or no.

I have a medical condition where I'm fine most of the time but occasionally it'll go wrong again and I'll need a load of medical appointments to sort it out, but outside of that my life is normal. I never want to say yes in case it leads to discrimination.

I wish they'd give us a wider variety of possible answers.

you’re being rather brusque to people who are giving reasonable responses that don’t match what you want to hear. Why bother starting the thread if you don’t want people to discuss it?

I get you.

Disability often isn’t a Yes/No question.

I have a health condition. Occasionally it impacts on my work. I’ve gone literally years at times with no impact and no adjustment. Do I meet the criteria? Sometimes.

I don't think surveys are an issue, just 'prefer not to say', but for things such as equal opportunities, if my understanding of the definition is correct, something that can limit you only part-time to qualify. So if you only get bad migraines in hot weather, or your arthritis is only limiting movement in cold weather, I think that is a 'yes' to the question.

There are a lot of misconceptions about these types on surveys across MN, including on race also.

1. Most are never shown to hiring or line managers, unless they need to be involved in managing adjustments for interview or if potentially hiring.

1. While there clearly are a few places where they are anxious to fill disabled 'quotas', it's certainly very few. Unfortunately, most organisations have zero interest in even checking how many people are disabled or making fairly minor reasonable adjustments, so the idea that they're actively searching for dyslexics in order to avoid having to install a wheelchair ramp is very surprising.

Also speaking against the quota idea is that from an employer perspective, reasonable adjustments for invisible and flare-up type illnesses like chronic depression or Crohns can actually be harder than for many visible disabilities or differences - as well as the fact that if they're being that cynical, there's no photoshoot appeal to candidates with ME or IBS. It's maybe a LA employer thing, certainly nothing I've ever heard in the private sector.