Accessibility and Archives: Working while disabled. Part One
Accessibility and Archives: Working while disabled - Part One
In this, the first of two blogposts about how the workplace impacts disabled workers in our sector, Philip Milnes-Smith from the Accessibility working group of ARA’s Diversity and Inclusion Allies curates testimony from anonymised contributors. These are presented without additional commentary or analysis beyond noting that there seems to be room for sectoral improvement. The Accessibility working group would like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors.
It is important to state at the start that disabled people are not all alike. It is certainly not true that the experience of one represents the experience of all. But it would also be wrong to suggest that any one experience is an outlier anomaly from which nothing can be learned.
Employment Witness 1
Access to Work can be helpful because it will partly or completely fund both physical items such as noise cancelling headphones and support workers such as job coaches in the workplace.
The challenge in archives is that roles are often fixed term contracts and the Access to Work process is long meaning that you will spend most of your contract without the support. My latest application has taken more than six months to get from the online application to me receiving the items on my list.
It would also help if there was greater awareness of the scheme in HR and managers so that more support with the application is available. It seemed like the pressure was mostly on me as the disabled individual. I had to make the application, do the assessment, organise the finer details of how I would receive my adjustments and I will now have to fill in the claim forms so that my organisation can be reimbursed. The organisation is responsible for purchasing the items and then depending on the grant letter, it will be partly or fully reimbursed once the items have been received.
Despite the qualification I feel I have been pushed out of the sector and that there is no place for someone like me in it.
Employment Witness 2
Dyspraxia is developmental coordination disorder which can impact verbal communication, thought/sensory processing and physical movement. Professionally, this translates into difficulties with public speaking; following conversations and taking handwritten notes – all of which are accommodated by my employer at no financial expense to the service or the downgrading of my role. It is accepted that I don’t participate in giving talks or chair meetings, instead I can do things such as assist in written preparation. Being excused from minute taking at meetings also helps me to focus on following and engaging with the conversation rather than struggling to get everything written down in time. My sensory processing differences can also be easily accommodated by small changes to my working environment e.g. options to adjust light, temperature and/or use of headphones.
These small changes make a significant difference as they allow me to focus on the contribution I can make to the service, rather than being held back by the anxiety of underperforming and display of obvious differences in ability which can often be labelled as laziness or lack of effort; an experience which I’m sure is shared by many with disabilities. In turn, this affords me an equitable place within my team, promoting my confidence and wellbeing through acceptance of difference and validation of the skills I can bring to the organisation.
It perhaps goes without saying that recognition of this positive impact, and the need for wider professional discussion of the use of reasonable adjustments, can only represent an important step forward in attracting, encouraging and sustaining a more diverse workforce.
Contributions to this series are welcomed, particularly if you have experience of applying for jobs in the sector as a disabled person. If you are interested in contributing to a similar anonymised post, in the first instance, please email diversityandinclusion@archives.org.uk .