People With Disabilities And The Workplace

People with Disabilities and the World of Work

People with disabilities have the same interests, talents and aspirations as any other group with regard to their career. They just experience more barriers to entering the world of work. If you are a person with a disability, you can you’re your disability into ability and make an excellent contribution in the workplace. It is very encouraging to know that people with disabilities normally are more hard-working, are less absent than their co- workers and show more loyalty to their employer.

Almost eight out of every hundred people have a disability. People with disabilities find it very difficult to find work, with around one in three being able to find work if the disability is not too severe. Women with disabilities find it even harder to find work.

Barriers to work entry

People with disabilities find it difficult to enter the labour market due to limits they put on themselves and limit employers and co-workers put on them. There are also barriers in the environment that hinder people with disabilities from entering work.

 Jobs are scarce in both cities and rural areas

Jobs where employees can work for a company are scarce due to a number of reasons. There are far more work-seekers than jobs. People with disabilities must compete against a large number of able-bodied youth who have never worked before and who have excellent degrees. Jobs in rural areas are far scarcer, due to a smaller number of businesses and distances. However, it was shown that people with disabilities are sometimes taken in on farms.

 Views of the employee/work-seeker with a disability

Very often people with disabilities limit their own career opportunities, by the way they think and act. These views speak through their behaviour and employers pick it up. These views then become the reason for not appointing or promoting the person with a disability. People with disabilities often think that they will in any case not be able to find work and give up even before they tried, or do not put everything into their job application. People with disabilities often do not have enough self-confidence, or stand up too strongly for their own rights, because they experience hardship. These can put off the employer, because a person is needed that will fit in with the rest of the group. The above can be the result of the person with a disability still feeling hurt and angry as a result of their disability.  Views of the employer

In today’s labour market, employers can pick and choose amongst work-seekers. For every job opportunity there are hundreds of job applications. You can imagine that employers would rather pick the person with whom they think they will have less “trouble” or expenses, to make the work-place accessible. Employers often still see people with disabilities as people who will not be able to do a full day’s work, who will be in constant fights with others, be absent quite often on sick leave, or are not presentable to other people. They are not willing to adapt the work methods or demands to suit to employee. The reason for the above is that employers do not have the necessary knowledge about illnesses and conditions that are often not well-known, or about assistive devices. They focus on the disability rather than the ability. People with disabilities can often be employed to just sit in a back office with nothing to be done and no training given.

 Views of co-workers

Other workers in the work-place may be very helpful, but may on occasion be insensitive and hurt people with disabilities by their remarks. This is a result of humans not knowing how to act in certain situations and then trying to make inappropriate jokes, or needling others, to hide their own fear and inability to deal with the situation. Co-workers often exclude people with disabilities from social events.

 Education

People with disabilities specifically have lower education and schooling as a result of the challenges they experience to get to school, the hardships in schools which are not set up to train them and poverty.

 Job and study choices

People with disabilities often lack careers and labour market information and therefore tend to choose careers that they know other people with disabilities have been able to get employed in, like switchboard operator. People with disabilities can obtain employment counselling and make sound career choices based on the job requirements.

 Assistive devices

People with disabilities know which assistive devices and reasonable accommodation they would need to be successful in their job. Employers are often not willing to provide these because it is additional hiring expense. People with disabilities, however, sometimes cannot explain their needs to the employer or in other instances remain quiet about it.

 Money

Some people with disabilities receive a disability grant and fear that they will be losing their disability grant if they start working. Once they lose their job, they will have to wait to get a disability grant again and will then not have an income. They need medicine and medical help, which they will then not be able to afford.

 Transport

People with disabilities are often amongst the poorest of the poor people. The often have the disability grant as income and must support family members with this money. They do not have transport to look for work and in many cases public transport is not accessible.

 Environmental barriers

Work-places, restrooms and parking at workplaces are often inaccessible, whilst there might be no elevators, or assistants to read materials. Employers also do not always have money to adapt workplaces.

 Work experience

People with disabilities have difficulty in entering jobs, which leads to them gaining no work experience. Many employers look for work experience before they employ workers.

Tips for work-seekers with disabilities

If you have a disability, you know it may affect a potential employer’s attitude towards you and the employer may have some concerns. It is up to you to show employers that, despite your disability, you are a suitable candidate for the job.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when searching for work:

Tip 1: Become strength-focused. This will shine through in your job-hunting approach. List your strengths on a piece of paper by thinking how you have come where you have come. Strengths could be school subjects, perseverance that helped you through your disability, etc. Stick your paper on the fridge or a mirror or a place where you can frequently see it.

Tip 2: Take responsibility for your own life, no matter how hard it is and how much you still feel hurt and frustrated by the disability. Be aware of how other people think and act and why they do it and show them that you can deal with your life. They will then be able to deal with it too.

Tip 3: Obtaining employment counselling is one of the best tips you can get. Not only will it help identify what you like to do (your interests) and can do (your strengths), that can possibly be used to earn an income, but you will be able to learn more about different careers and job requirements. The Department of Labour’s Career Counsellors can help with this. Get employment counselling at the end of your schooling and basically at any time you need to make decision about your further career path. Make an appointment with a Careers Counsellor at the Labour Centre closest to you. You can also use the self-help booklets on “Choosing a career” and “Finding the right job for your” on the website www.labour.gov.za.

Tip 4: Learn about different careers by reading about them in books and the internet. Pay special attention to what you will have to do in the job and whether you will be able to do it with your disability. Also looks at the school subjects or other training that is required.

Tip 5: Be open to choose careers that you will be able to handle and that are not normally chosen by people with disabilities. Employers have to reach their employment equity targets and are looking for people with disabilities in all career types.

Tip 6: Build a support system that can help you with transport, be a soundboard and help with daily activities. Such a system can include family, medical professionals, mentors, allies, peers and Associations for People with Disabilities.

Tip 7: Study as far as you can. Finish your school education and study further if you can. Remember, you are competing with hundreds of able-bodied people for a few jobs. The better your education, the higher the chances you will be taken. There are many bursaries for people with disabilities at Department of Higher Education and Training (NSFAS). You can apply online at www.nsfas.org.za or contact the disability unit at the University you would like to study at. Strides have also been made to free tertiary education.

Tip 8: In times when you are not working, use your time to do a free short course online (google “free short courses”) in your career field. This will help that you offer the employer more skills when you re-enter work. If you enter work later or re-enter work, make sure to keep up with your field or enter a re-training course.

Tip 9: Have you organised and planned your job search? Use a variety of job hunting techniques instead of just looking at newspaper advertisements. The internet has a wealth of job opportunities available.

Tip 10: Ask the Career Counsellor at Department of Labour to assist you with job preparation, such as writing a CV and interviewing skills as well as information on work ethics. Work ethics is very important skill-employers are often of the opinion that young people do not have the discipline that a regular job requires.

Tip 11: If you are called for psychometric testing, enquire about the different purposes for which you will be tested and request the necessary reasonable accommodation to enable you to be tested.

Tip 12: Work out before the time, how you are going to talk to the employer about your disability during the job interview-focus on your strengths and explain which assistive devices and what reasonable accommodation you will need. Make the purchase of assistive devices easy for employers or bring your own assistive device. Be responsible enough to know that it must be a viable option for both yourself and the employer. Make sure you can satisfy employers’ concern about your safety at work and concerns of customers and co-workers.

Tip 13: Inspect the worksite, so you can see if you will be able to get around and do your work.

Tip 14: Know what technologies can help you work effectively, how much they cost and where they can be obtained. Contact Associations for People with Disabilities in your area to help you with this task.

Tip 15: Know the job requirements in detail when you go for the interview and help the employer understand how you will do them with your disability and which adaptations might be necessary. Focus on easy ways to adapt the work.

Tip 16: Be honest. If you keep quiet about your disability and the reasonable accommodation needed, employers are not forced to give it to you later on. Know that if you disclosed your disability, you may ask for reasonable accommodation at any stage of the employment process.

Tip 17: Many people with disabilities prefer to work from home. There are many work opportunities that can be done from home. Google “work from home in South Africa” and get your ideas going. Be careful that you do not fall victim to people who want you to pay any money whatsoever to start out or to get training first. Also be careful of overseas employers offering jobs-these may not be legitimate.

Tip 18: Setting up small businesses also suits many people with disabilities, because often this can be done from home. Ask the Career Counsellor of Department of Labour to discuss the value of setting up a small business or co-operative (where five or more people work together on the same project to find an income) with a group of people with disabilities, which you organised.

Tip 19: Ask the Career Counsellor of Department of Labour to help you find training on how to set up a small business or a co-operative

Tip 20: Ask the Career Counsellor of Department of Labour to refer you to organizations where you can find money and equipment to set up your small business or co-operative

Tip 21: The Employment Equity Act was set up to ensure more people with disabilities are employed and that their rights are protected in the workplace. Know your rights and familiarise yourself with current Employment Equity legislation.

Tip 22: People with disabilities in rural areas find work on farms-if you are in a rural area, see if you cannot find work in this way. Tip 23: Associations for People with Disability (APD) often help people with disabilities to find work-ask your nearest APD for help you might need.

Tip 24: There are Supported Employment Enterprises and protective workshops all over the country that can assist with employment, if your disability is severe. Contact the Career Counsellor at the Department of Labour for referral to these.

Tip 25: Empower yourself through self-development. Read self-help books or attend life skills programmes on assertiveness (stating your case), how to enhance your self-esteem, dealing with discrimination, managing your emotions and work ethics so you can become a valuable employee who continues to learn.

Tip 26: The best gift you can give yourself and other people with disabilities is to tell employers about your condition and to lobby them to give people with disabilities a chance to get training and a job opportunity. Tell them about the advantages of hiring people with disabilities, such as improving the company’s image and learning how to accommodate future employees with a disability as well as having differently abled employees that represent customers with disabilities. Also employees with disabilities developed skills in overcoming obstacles.

Tip 27: You might be on the receiving end of turn-down on job applications. Do not let past failures affect you negatively. Work very hard to remain positive, by turning negatives into positives-see the half full glass rather than the half empty one. Ask your Career Counsellor to help you with this, if necessary.

Tip 28: The Career Counsellors of Department of Labour can also give you information on how to register as work-seeker on the database of work-seekers so that you can possibly be matched to available jobs in your area. You can also register online.

How to register online?

To register yourself on ESSA online, you will need to have an e-mail address. If you do not have an e-mail you can get on for free from online services for example webmail or yahoo or Gmail.

 Go to www.labour.gov.za

 Go to online services and click on “Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA)” hyperlink

 Then you will be directed to ESSA online page  On the ESSA page click on “Register Individual” hyperlink

 Accept the terms and conditions and click submit button

 Click next

 Fill in your personal Id number, Surname, Email address in the text boxes provided

 A new systems-generated password will be sent to your email address. The systems-generated password will include special characters such as @#$^%:*

Enter your own ID number at username and your systems-generated password to Login.

People with disabilities should remove the barriers to employment by talking in one voice to remove fears, myths and negative attitudes about disabilities. People with disabilities are the best qualified persons to this, since they can speak from their own experience. Play a leading role in creating awareness on disability issues in the workplace on every possible platform.

SOURCES

StatsSA: Census 2011: Profile of People with Disabilities in South Africa. Report 03-01-59. www.statssa.gov.za.