Category: Employment

Autism workplace campaigns

Autism awareness campaigns have highlighted the socio-economic inequalities experienced by autistic people. A new stereotype has emerged from autism workplace campaigns such as autistic ‘talent’ and autism ‘advantage’. The aim of these labels is meant to encourage employers to hire autistic workers. But what we really need is a universal design approach. A briefing paper from Queensland University of Technology examines this new phenomena.

A brightly coloured logo in the style of a jig saw puzzle for Autism Awareness.

Awareness campaigns are based on the desire to do the right thing to improve socio-political conditions and opportunities for employment. However, they can lead to focusing on specific traits as if they are special. It adds up to stereotyping.

Marketing autistic people with ‘autistic traits’ will not guarantee inclusion even if it results in employment. Indeed, such marketing can result in thinking that all autistic people are the same. Nevertheless, highlighting the strengths and skills of autistic people could change negative perceptions and open up employment opportunities.

But these kinds of awareness-raising initiatives rely on ableist assumptions and a hierarchy of difference. That is, society still regards non-disabled people as the norm so people with disability remain outside this categorisation. Then thoughts turn to specialised accommodations.

Universal design as an alternative

The authors invite readers to focus on re-organising work so that the most number of people benefit without having to be excluded before they are included. They propose a universal design paradigm for inclusivity.

Contrary to traditional diversity and inclusion approaches that define or limit what diversity and inclusion mean, who is diverse and how they might be identified, Universal Design creates the conditions for diversity and inclusion to occur naturally.

Calista Castles, & Deanna Grant-Smith

Many of the diversity and inclusion measures that segregate socio-political groups, could benefit us all. A universal design approach negates the need for raising awareness of differences and can transition society towards acceptance of human difference.

If social, work and learning environments were universally designed we wouldn’t need special initiatives. These initiatives only serve to reinforce the marginalisation and stereotypes by reminding people of human difference. Or that special accommodations need to be made.

The title of the short article is, Autism at work campaigns: Are they creating inclusion in the workforce? This is an interesting briefing paper that succinctly spells out the issues of positive stereotyping any marginalised group.

Barriers to employment

Logo for Aspect Capable

If there is a supportive environment, many autistic people could be employed. Indeed, they could flourish and be an asset to the workplace. Employers need to know what sort of adjustments are needed so they can reach their potential. Often they are really simple, particularly if thinking from a universal design perspective.

An interesting and informative article from London South Bank University covers the topic comprehensively. The open access article can be downloaded in Word from the university website. The title of the article is “Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Employment of Autistic Adults”. In the UK they have The Equality Act and The Autism Act which emphasise access to work. Good to see this topic being covered.

Aspect Capable website has more information on a Australian initiative and the video shows how autistic people can achieve in the workplace.

Age and workplace competence

Aerial view of an open office with people seated at desks in cubicles. If we say older people make more loyal and reliable employees, what does that say about younger people? And anyway, are these stereotypes valid? Ironically, public policy uses age stereotypes to overcome stereotypes about older workers. However, the connection between age and workplace competence is not supported in the research. 

One of the key issues here is that there is no clear definition of what an ‘older worker’ is. This makes it difficult to build relevant public policy. The range of ages is between 40 and 64 depending on who is doing the research.

The other issue is how to manage the intersection of age with other characteristics such as gender and work type. So, there is a need for an approach that acknowledges people of a given age are not all alike. The stereotypes are a social construct and have little to do with individuals. Hence, employment programs should be based on individual need rather than age. Indeed, older age based programs only serve to entrench the stereotypes.

Age discrimination is not related to one age group. Younger people face discrimination in the workplace too. The research indicates that the attributes canvased by advocates of older workers are not necessarily those that employers seek. 

Firefighters and two firetrucks attending to a fire.
Emergency workers transfer knowledge to new contexts. Image by Jon Pauling.

Public policy that pushes for a longer working life also makes several assumptions. People who work in jobs that cannot be done in later life, are overlooked in this scenario. And ‘productive ageing’ might not mean paid work, or that retirement is unproductive.

Population ageing has brought calls to prolong working lives. This has the potential to be a good thing for individuals and the economy. However, not everyone has a job-type that will support the extension of their paid working life.

Public policy

Philip Taylor and Warwick Smith provide a thoughtful overview of the situation in their conference paper, Rethinking Advocacy on Ageing and Work. Policymaking should aim for measures that support all people in transition, for instance, in entry to work, job loss and re-entry to work, based on the assumption that the needs of young and old are not
much different. 

Advocates for older workers might be doing them a dis-service by perpetuating stereotypes. Younger and older workers are not in competition. Consequently both will benefit from efforts to promote their sustained employment.

Examples of stereotyping in reports

Front cover of What's Age Got to do with it?
Front cover of report

Four years ago Per Capita published a report with the title, What’s age got to do with it? It challenged the stereotypical statements about older workers. Although these were meant to be positive statements, they were reinforcing stereotyping. Stereotypes gain currency in society and the result is discrimination. 

The Australian Human Rights Commission has re-used the title for their report, What’s age got to do with it? A snapshot of ageism across the Australian lifespan. The research for the report sought Australian thoughts about age and ageism.

The research focused on attitudes about age rather than behaviours. It involved an online survey of 2440 Australians and 11 focus groups. Ninety per cent of respondents agreed that ageism exists. However, some respondents weren’t clear what ageism is. 

Making jokes about age was seen as more acceptable than making jokes about race or gender. Many thought the media played a significant role in producing stereotypical portrayals of all age groups. Stereotypes are strongly held by each group and accepted as fact. The report explores this. 

Ageism impacts our human rights. We all have a right to health, education, housing and employment. We have the right to basic freedoms and to make choices. Consciously or subconsciously those in power can infringe these rights based on what they believe to be true . 

The report was led by Kay Patterson, Commissioner for Ageing and consequently, the report is presented within this context. However the findings support the earlier work by Philip Taylor and Warwick Smith in the Per Capita report. Their work challenged the earlier report, Willing to Work, also published by the Human Rights Commission, 

Professor Philip Taylor is a CUDA Board Member and presented at the UD2021 Conference in Melbourne.

Debunking the myths about ageing and work

Two men are working on a construction site. One is holding a circular saw which has just cut through a large timber board. Ageing and work.Age discrimination is illegal in Australia, but when it comes to employment things get tricky. And then there is the question of the government wanting people to work to a later age. However, what are the real facts on this issue? Philip Taylor lists eight myths in a summary of an article for the Diversity Council of Australia. 

Debunking the myths:

Myth 1. Age discrimination towards older workers is endemic. Reality: Age discrimination is potentially faced by all workers.

Myth 2: Different generations have different orientations to work. Reality: It is employee life stage (e.g. school leaver, working parent, graduating to retirement) that makes a big difference – not generation.

Myth 3: Older people are an homogeneous group. Reality: Older and younger people have intersectional parts of their identity which impacts on how they experience inclusion at work.

Myth 4: Older workers outperform younger ones in terms of their reliability, loyalty, work ethic and life experience. Reality: Performance is not linked to age – except in very rare circumstances.

Myth 5: Older people have a lifetime of experience that managers should recognise. Reality: Relevant experience, is more valuable than experience, of itself.

Myth 6: Younger workers are more dynamic, entrepreneurial, and tech savvy than older workers. Reality: Older people have a lot to offer the modern workplace.

Myth 7: Younger workers feel entitled and won’t stick around. Reality: Younger workers are more likely to be in insecure employment and to experience unemployment. 

Myth 8: Older people who stay on at work are taking jobs from younger people. Reality: Increasing the employment of older workers does not harm and may even benefit, younger people’s employment prospects.

The title of the article on the Diversity Council website is, Myth Busting Age Discrimination at Work. You will have to sign in for the full paper. 

The summary is titled, What are the myths (and facts) on ageing and work? and you can find out a little more about the myths listed above.

You might be interested in a related article on including people with disability in the workplace – it’s a lot easier than most people think. 

 

Workplaces: Lessons from the pandemic

Graphic showing a laptop computer screen with coloured squares each with a face of a person. Workplaces: lessons from the pandemic.The pandemic has shown that workplaces can be almost anywhere. People who previously experienced physical barriers to workplaces found working online from home a blessing. But that doesn’t mean employers and managers don’t have to worry about accessibility and inclusion any more. Hybrid working where some staff are onsite and others online is where there are a few problems to solve. G3ict has some workplace lessons from the pandemic to share. 

Creating an inclusive workplace means catering for equity and accessibility in physical and virtual spaces. Platforms such as Zoom evolved quickly and now include automatic captioning for meetings and webinars. But there are additional things to consider in hybrid settings where some participants are online and others are in the conference room. 

Many conference rooms now include technology to accommodate hybrid meetings, but there is more to do. We need protocols around seating, placement of a sign language interpreter, captioning and the ability to use the “chat” function.  

Including people with disability – some tips

Including people with disability – and you might not know they have one – requires an approach that allows for equity and dignity. For example, a person should not have to ask for captioning to be enabled. If they have to ask they probably won’t because they don’t want to be singled out. If the captioning is clear, and AI captioning can be patchy, it’s good when sound is distorted or digitised. 

Not everyone will be viewing on a large screen, so presentation slides should allow for this. Large text with good colour contrast will ensure a higher level of readability for all. Not all vision conditions can be solved with glasses so it help people with low vision too.

Head and shoulders of James Thurston. He is wearing a light blue shirt and glasses and smiling to the camera.
James Thurston

The G3ict blog post discusses other details such as workplace furniture and products. Even fabric textures, patterns and colour contrasts can affect some people.  As the blog says:

“There is no handbook on how to create a fully accessible hybrid workplace, but engaging staff from a cross-disability perspective for ideas and product testing on both the physical and virtual side is critically important.”

“Set-backs in your plans should not be seen as failures but rather learning opportunities to move you towards a workplace that is accessible, inclusive and functional for everyone because truly hitting a “reset button” is not a singular action but a journey we must all be on together.”

When home is the workplace

A woman is sitting at a dining table typing on her laptop. When home is the workplace.Computers and internet provided the opportunity for some people to occasionally work from home. That was pre-Covid-19 when Home was still Home. But now Home is the workplace as well as home. It’s also been a place for education, long day care, and a place to stay safe. For some, home is all four at once: workplace, school, childcare centre and safe haven. Open spaces have taken on an increased value as a means of escape from the same four walls. But not everyone has easy access to open space, public or private.

Our homes were never designed for any of this. Not on a long-term basis anyway. Then there are the institutional homes – the aged care industry has not fared well in providing a sense of home for its residents. So we need a complete re-think about what it means to be “going to work at home”. 

A paper from Ireland looks at the impact of the pandemic on everyday lives and the need to adapt the built environment. The authors argue that: 

“There is now a key opportunity to implement universal design, to allow the best possible use of space, to enable everyone to live, work and socialise safely and equally.”

The authors discuss issues related to the public realm, housing design, and green infrastructure, and access for people with disability. They conclude that the pause mode caused by Covid-19 gives an opportunity to improve the lives of city dwellers. 

The title of the paper is, The impact of Covid-19 on our relationship with the built environment. 

From the abstract:

This article aims to explore the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the built environment in Ireland. It considers how our homes might suit the future needs of all citizens, particularly the needs of the most vulnerable members of society.

The growth in ‘working from home’ has highlighted architectural issues such as space within the home and the local community, as well as the importance of public and private open space. Covid-19 has exposed the most vulnerable, and the nursing home model is under scrutiny and will need to be addressed. 

The Covid-19 pandemic offers the potential for architects to provide a vision of a built environment that addresses biosecurity issues, accessibility and climate change. Architects need to re-purpose towns, villages, and urban areas, and develop new housing typologies which will integrate living and working within the one dwelling, and promote a sense of community in local neighbourhoods. Adaptable, flexible buildings alongside usable and accessible public spaces are necessary to meet change.

Humanity is neurodiverse

A brightly coloured and glowing depiction of the brain in action. Humanity is neurodiverse.Comparing people to potatoes is a good way to explain diversity in the workplace. Although potatoes come in thousands of different varieties, shops give us the same regular sample to choose from. The same applies to our workplaces – we choose the same sample of the population. And if an employee doesn’t think or act like the majority, they are “weeded” out. Weeding out is often unintentional. That’s because employers haven’t yet worked out that humanity is neurodiverse. 

The term neurodiverse is often applied to people who are autistic. This is where stereotypes arise. The extra bright person who thinks differently to those around them is just one. Neurodiversity includes people with ADHD, dyslexia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other cognitive conditions.

According to Kat Crewes we have seen a good deal of progress in workplaces. She says that research from EY suggest that neurodivergent people make up 20 per cent of the population. Yet many can’t get jobs or jobs they could excel in. 

Larger corporations are realising the benefits of designing workplaces that include people who are neurodiverse. Crewes mentions Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and Deloitte. 

After hiring 100 neurodiverse people, EY found that their problem solving and creativity helped their business. A similar story for Hewlett Packard’s software development. But it is a big risk for someone to say they are autistic or neurodiverse. 

Designing the workplace

Many workplaces are getting up to speed with physical access. But we have to consider other design aspects such as sound and light sensitivity. Neuro-inclusivity requires a more nuanced approach. That includes giving neurodiverse people the opportunity to share their experiences. 

Crewes says that defining what accessibility means for a neurodivergent person is the first step. That means creating a safe place to speak up. She also explains more about people with ADHD and other cognitive conditions. The spectrum includes all genders, cultural backgrounds, and ages. They are working in every type of profession and organisation. 

Icons representing permanent, temporary, situational and cognitive conditions in the workplace. Humanity is neurodiverse.
Image from Aurecon based on Microsoft Design Toolkit

We are a long way from accepting people who are neurodiverse into the workplace. This exclusion is often the result of failing to adjust. It does take effort to design for inclusion. And it is not all one way. Embedding neurodivergent people within the workplace is a learning experience for everyone.

The Kat Crewes’ Aurecon article is titled, Designing for a neurodiverse workplace. The second half of the article has the information on workplace design. 

Hidden Talent- Autism at Work

A man stands with his back to the camera and is looking at lots of pieces of paper pinned to a whiteboard.You’re missing out by not hiring staff with autism. This is one of the points made in a FastCo article, about the ways to support staff with autism. It’s possible you already work with them now, but neither of you know.

Common behaviours are social ineptness, lack of eye contact and blunt remarks. The article gives a brief overview of some of the diverse ways autism presents, but care should be taken not to stereotype.

Many people with autism can focus for long time on a topic – if it interests them. Attention to detail and pattern recognition skills are often well used in technical occupations. Some have unique ways of viewing situations and can bring great insights to problem solving.

The article lists some of the ways to accommodate employees with autism, such as reducing environmental stimuli. Clear communication that doesn’t rely on social cues or facial expression are also recommended (isn’t this good for everyone?) The title of the article is, You’re missing out by not hiring autistic workers. It originally appeared in The Conversation.

See the Harvard Business Review article, Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage. 

Book review: Stories about the neurodiversity movement

Front cover of the book, Autisitic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement.The Commons Social Change website features a new book which is a collection of stories about the neurodiversity movement. The collection gathers the voices of both activists and academics. The introduction explains the approach to commissioning the chapters. 

The chapters are open access and the book title is: Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement: Stories from the Frontline.

Introduction

The first book to bring together a collection of neurodiverse contributors to talk about events that shaped the movement, and which they themselves were involved with. Focuses on activists’ direct experience effecting change for people who identify as autistic rather than abstract accounts that reflect on autism’s social construction or essence.

Provides a one-stop shop for readers interested in the history and ideas of the neurodiversity movement and how these ideas have shaped production of expert and especially lay knowledge about autism. Gathers a collective of autistic activist/academic voices and engages in current theoretical debates around knowledge production and epistemic authority within (critical) research on autism.

From the abstract

This edited collection offers a historical overview of the autistic community and neurodiversity movement through first-hand accounts. Awareness and impact of the movement has grown, but misunderstandings persist. 

The book covers the terms neurodiversity and neurodiversity movement, the breadth of the movement. There is an overlap with and divergence from the medical model, and its emphasis on self-advocacy. 

Contents of the book

Introduction, Steven K. Kapp

Gaining Community

Historicizing Jim Sinclair’s “Don’t Mourn for Us”: A Cultural and Intellectual History of Neurodiversity’s First Manifesto, Sarah Pripas-Kapit

From Exclusion to Acceptance: Independent Living on the Autistic Spectrum, Martijn Dekker

Autistic People Against Neuroleptic Abuse, Dinah Murray

Autistics.Org and Finding Our Voices as an Activist Movement, Laura A. Tisoncik

Losing, Mel Baggs

Getting Heard

Neurodiversity.Com: A Decade of Advocacy. Kathleen Seidel

Autscape, Karen Leneh Buckle

The Autistic Genocide Clock, Meg Evans

Shifting the System: AASPIRE and the Loom of Science and Activism, Dora M. Raymaker

Out of Searching Comes New Vibrance, Sharon daVanport

Two Winding Parent Paths to Neurodiversity Advocacy, Carol Greenburg, Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Lobbying Autism’s Diagnostic Revision in the DSM-5, Steven K. Kapp, Ari Ne’eman

Torture in the Name of Treatment: The Mission to Stop the Shocks in the Age of Deinstitutionalization, Shain M. Neumeier, Lydia X. Z. Brown

Autonomy, the Critical Journal of Interdisciplinary Autism Studies, Larry Arnold

My Time with Autism Speaks, John Elder Robison

Covering the Politics of Neurodiversity: And Myself, Eric M. Garcia

“A Dream Deferred” No Longer: Backstory of the First Autism and Race Anthology, Morénike Giwa Onaiwu

Entering the Establishment?

Changing Paradigms: The Emergence of the Autism/Neurodiversity Manifesto, Monique Craine

From Protest to Taskforce, Dinah Murray

Critiques of the Neurodiversity Movement, Ginny Russell

Conclusion, Steven K. Kapp

Download Full Book
Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement: Stories from the Frontline

The above text is reproduced from The Commons Social Change website. The book is also available on the SpringerLink website. 

Telling stories for inclusion at work

Many coloured heart shapes with black eyes and smiles indicate diversity. Telling stories for inclusion.When it comes to diversity and inclusion, economic arguments tend to fall flat.  For many, economic arguments are academic – just information. Storytelling on the other hand is personal and connects with people. It makes the situation real. Telling stories is also the way to learn from each other. An article in the Harvard Business Review tackles the topic of telling stories for inclusion.

Measuring the number of different categories of person in a company is also an academic pursuit. Scorecards, targets and business cases can measure numbers, but what do those numbers actually mean? Inclusion by mathematics is not likely to create empathy and understanding – the real game changers. But whose stories get told?

Stories from leaders are good, but stories from peers are better. The article gives examples where the workforce might be diverse, but it’s not inclusive. This is where nuanced conversations are needed. Leaders need to hear about the impact bias and exclusion actually has on employees. 

Creating safe spaces for storytelling is one way to find out how inclusive a workplace is. The article, How Sharing Our Stories Builds Inclusion gives more detail on this. 

Summary of article

“It’s time for the conversation around inclusion and diversity to take a human-centric approach. It’s not just about the numbers — it’s about the people. Storytelling, one of the most universal human experiences, gives us a rare chance to look through new lenses. And perspective-taking is a life skill, not just a workplace one.

Companies that prioritize inclusion will emerge from crisis stronger, and stories are one major vehicle to help them get there. Inclusion consultants Selena Rezvani and Stacey A. Gordon offer steps to implement a story-based approach to DEI where employees are encouraged to tell their stories, own them, and consider how they impact their day-to-day experiences at work. 

Can the construction industry be inclusive?

Two construction men sitting at a table look at a complex engineering diagram. The construction industry can be inclusive.There’s an assumption that you can’t be a construction worker if you have a disability. So it’s no use recruiting them. Yet this industry has its fair share of permanently injured workers. Many access consultants also have a disability, so the assumption doesn’t hold. Can the construction industry be inclusive? Yes

At last someone has joined the dots in The Fifth Estate article, Yes, wheelchair users can work in construction. Working in construction is not all about climbing ladders and working in confined spaces, says Jonathan Fritsch. The article is about seeing the opportunities for people with disability. The construction industry employs over one million people. There are many jobs that don’t require ladders and heavy lifting. And not every role is onsite. But like most recruiting companies, they place people with disability at the bottom of the employability scale. 

The full title of the article by Jonathan Fritsch is, Yes, wheelchair users can work in construction. Let’s see this as an opportunity.  

 

Ageism, Attitudes and Stereotypes

Are you ageist? Probably. Front cover of the Ageist Britain report from SunLife. Ageism, attitudes and stereotypes. An article in The Guardian reports on a survey that found one third of British people admit they have discriminated against others because of their age. The SunLife report, Ageist Britain, highlights casual ageism and the impact it has on everyone. But it is ingrained in everyday language. It seems younger people think that life after 50 must be ‘downhill all the way’. But such attitudes infiltrate all parts of everyday life. That’s how older people are excluded from employment, harassed on public transport, and even when shopping. 

Language can demean and depress. “Old fart”, “little old lady”, “bitter old man” and “old hag” were, researchers found, the most used ageist phrases on social media. Four thousand people in the UK were surveyed. Thousands of tweets and blogposts were also analysed for discriminatory and ageist language. And that’s without journalists using the term “the elderly” for anyone aged over 65.

Ageism, attitudes and stereotypes

Do we deploy so-called positive stereotypes of older people as a means to combat ageism and ageist attitudes? If we say older people make more loyal and reliable employees, what does that say about younger people? But are these stereotypes valid? Philip Taylor discussed these important issues about ageism, attitudes, stereotypes and work.

Two men are working on a construction site. One is holding a circular saw which has just cut through a large timber board. Are they a stereotype? Probably not. Ageism attitudes and stereotypes.
Working at any age – no need for stereotypes

 

Professor Taylor’s keynote presentation at UD2021 was thought provoking. It challenged almost everyone in the room to re-think their concepts about ageism and work. It seems there are more complaints related to age by younger people. He asked, is there such a thing as ageism or are there other factors that discriminate?  And how does this work with concepts of equity and diversity?

Then there are the contradictions related to age: The Federal Government wanting everyone to work until age 70, yet National Seniors are proposing older people should make way for younger people and retire early. 

Blue background with white text. Title slide from Taylor's presentation about ageing, attitudes and stereotypes.Here’s a quote from one of the slides, “The very arguments for employing older workers put forward in business cases concerning commitment, loyalty and experience risk confirming broader societal perceptions that they are of the past and thus, less able to meet the demands of modern workplaces” (Roberts, 2006).

There is a greater variation in job performance between people of the same age than between people of different ages. Professor Taylor’s presentation slides have a good amount of text to get the key points of his presentation. Maybe it is time for a product recall on advocacy for older people. 

Ageism is bad for your health

An older woman's pair of hands. A common ageist and patronising image of an older person.
A common ageist image. Why not her face?

We have to stop ageism at the older end of the age spectrum. Why? Because it’s killing us. The World Health Organization, says older people who hold negative views about their own ageing will live 7.5 years less than people with positive attitudes. So where do these negative views come from? Everywhere it seems. Ageism is bad for your health because ageing is framed as a negative experience. 

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald reports on this phenomenon. Ageist comments, such as “silly old duck” or “they are useless with technology” are socially accepted. Calling someone an “old dear” is not a term of endearment. Language matters because it is an expression of how we think. Ageism is yet to be properly recognised as damaging, unlike racism and sexism.  But we must be careful with the term ageism.

Ageism is always referred to as an older age issue. However, it is not. Anyone of any age can be subject to ageism. In Europe, the only region with data on all age groups, younger people report more age discrimination than other age groups. Philip Taylor has more to say on this in his UD2021 presentation. 

Ageism affects everyone. Children are brought up in a culture of age stereotypes that guide their behaviours towards people of different ages. They also learn how to perceive themselves at various stages of life. 

The WHO says that ageism is everywhere – in our institutions and relationships to ourselves. For example:

    • Policies that support healthcare rationing by age,
    • Practices that limit younger people’s opportunities to contribute to decision-making in the workplace
    • Patronising behaviour used between older and younger people
    • Self-limiting behaviour based on our own ideas of what a certain age can or cannot do. 

Is ageism really a problem?

It’s not just about older people either. This section from the WHO website on ageism says:

Two women sit on a bird nest swing depicting a positive image of older people.
Two older women on a bird nest swing. A more positive image.

“Age is one of the first things we notice about other people. However, age is often used to categorize and divide people in ways that lead to harm, disadvantage and injustice and erode solidarity across generations. This is ageism: the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or ourselves based on age.

Ageism is pervasive, affects people of all ages from childhood onwards and has serious and far-reaching consequences for people’s health, well-being and human rights. Ageism can be found within institutions, in interactions between people and within ourselves. Globally, 1 in 2 people are ageist against older people and in Europe, younger people report more perceived ageism than other age groups.”

Major re-think of office design

A drawing depicting the Library design. Major rethink of office design is needed.
Image of Library design courtesy Clive Wilkinson Architects.

The open office design is dead. That’s according to the designers of offices for big corporates such as Google and Microsoft. The COVID pandemic has caused a major re-think of office design and how people best function in office settings. 

Many workers have found open offices less than ideal workplaces. According to an article in FastCompany, apart from being noisy they reinforce sexist behaviour and make people leave their jobs. 

The three design typologies in the article indicate good circulation spaces, but there is little in these designs that indicate inclusive design principles.  For some people, working from home is still the optimum if office design and office culture do not make them welcome. However, these designs offer space to move around and interact with fellow workers rather than being tucked away in a nook.

The Library is an open floor plan with large working tables, individual nooks and comfortable chairs. Rather like an airport business lounge. 

The Plaza is a kitchen and lunchroom space and encourages social activity. This is the part that people miss by working from home. It might encourage people back to the office.

The Avenue is, as the name suggests, a place for chance interaction with tables and stools and little nooks.

The title of the article is, These architects popularized the open office. Now they say ‘the open office is dead’. 

Open plan offices: what’s the verdict?

Looking down into a large open plan office with desks and partitionsThe debate about whether open plan offices make good places to work continues. A team of Harvard researchers found that they weren’t. But it seems they were looking at the extreme of open plan offices, and poorly designed at that.

In defense of open plan design, architect Ashley L Dunn argues that the Harvard study chose offices where there were no partitions and no separate meeting rooms or places for private conversations. These are elements that make open plan effective. You can read more from Dunn in the FastCompany article. By chance, most open plan designs end up being more accessible for people using wheeled mobility devices. Toilets and staff rooms might be another matter though.

What about accessibility?

It would be good to see an article such as this also tackle issues of inclusion and accessibility in office design, particularly for people who for example, are deaf or hard of hearing, have back pain, or have low vision. Some solutions are simple such as moving clutter from walkways. The video below from the Rick Hansen Foundation shows how simple things make a big difference – it doesn’t have to be perfect.

 

Mental wellness in the workplace

An office with desks in a row with computer screens and people sitting at the desks. Mental wellness in the workplace.Sitting down for long periods in the workplace could be bad for your mental health. Perhaps that’s one reason working from home is popular – at least some of the time. Putting on the washing, clearing the dishes, or seeing to the dog in between workplace tasks might be the short breaks we need. We need to take mental wellness in the workplace more seriously.

Sitting for prolonged periods is just one factor discussed in an article on the Wellbeing website. There’s some evidence that breaking up excessive sitting with light activity is good for mental wellness. The average employed adult sits for more than nine hours a day.

Solutions include dynamic workstations and encouraging standing during meetings. However, some strategies might be more suited to some than others. While standing can relieve back ache, standing for too long can aggravate it. So all workplace policies need to have worker input and be flexible. 

Job autonomy is another factor and may improve the mental health of younger workers. Evidence from the literature shows that improvements in job autonomy can have a positive impact on anxiety and depression.  They could be given the opportunity to craft how their job is done.

In the second article in the series, flexible working policies can help reduce work-home conflict. This conflict can be a major source of depression and anxiety. Flexible working policies may include working from home, flexible working hours, job sharing or a compressed working week.

Diversity and Inclusion or Belonging and Dignity?

A crowd of lots of different coloured heads representing diversity, inclusion, belonging and dignity.Are Diversity and Inclusion and recognition of Diversity the right words to use? Have they just become jargon for human resource policies and not much changes?  An article in the World Economic Forum newsletter says Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have failed. Belonging, Dignity and Justice are proposed instead. The reasons are explained.

      • The existing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives only expose discriminatory attitudes and do nothing to change things
      • These programs are still based in white dominant culture
      • Belonging, dignity and justice are alternative values that are about the experiences of marginalised people

Belonging is about feeling welcome, dignity is about be a person, and justice is about restoring and repairing individuals.

Although the article is by a practitioner in this space, the information in the article is useful for any organisation wanting to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In essence, it is about embedding the principles in all policies and practices both inside and outside the organisation. 

We are reminded that the work done today on diversity and inclusion creates a legacy for future generations. The title of the article is, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have failed. How about Belonging, Dignity and Justice instead?

The office: Inclusion, Empowerment and Belonging

Looking down into a large open plan office with desks and partitionsMany people spend a great deal of their week in the workplace. It is a micro community where people share experiences and develop connections. The birthday cake is one way to encourage meaningful social connections. But are all workers feeling like they belong in the office? Inclusion, empowerment and belonging are important factors for a productive workforce.

An article in Sourceable asks us to think about the physical design of offices as well as workplace practices. Linh Pham begins the discussion with her own experience of coming to Australia with her family as a refugee. She reminds us that concepts of diversity and inclusion are relatively new. But they are no longer “nice-to-have” – they are “must-have”.

New parents are discussed in terms of childcare facilities. One in five couple families with small children have both parents working full time. Thoughtful office design makes the workplace more welcoming for people with various disabilities.

Pham suggests that programs to reduce inequality are essential. But the commitment to inclusion can go beyond the office to involvement in activities such as International Women’s Day. Nicely put together drawing on all marginalised groups and statistics.

The title of the article is Building empowerment and inclusiveness. 

 

Off to work we go. Or do we?

A man holding a boarding pass in his hand along with a bag. You can see the airport in the background.Travelling to work is one thing. Travelling for work is another.  A recent study of Australian university staff who travel for work revealed common difficulties. All participants reported that their disability, whether declared or not, affected their ability to undertake work-based travel. Some of their necessary compromises involved extra cost at their own expense. 

There are four things that make travelling for work difficult for people with disability. They are: the way the current system is designed, stigma and victimisation, self reliance and asking for help. And of course, double the effort that anyone else takes for an event-free journey. These factors also apply to the tourism sector. That’s because academics who frequently travel for work might extend their stay for a short vacation. They might take their family too.

The university travel booking service on campus often asked participants to seek additional information themselves. That’s because it was not seen as part of the service. One participant found it easier to bypass the system and do their own bookings even though they had to foot the bill. Potentially, the system isn’t smooth sailing for others either.

A supervisor told another participant that they couldn’t be an academic if it meant travelling overseas. Booking travel also meant revealing a previously hidden disability. This is a tricky area. Other articles have revealed the reticence to declare a disability for fear of discrimination and disbelief. 

The article, Negotiating work-based travel for people with disabilities, has some recommendations. They are applicable for workplaces and tourism operators alike.  You will need institutional access for a free read or contact the authors at The University of Queensland.

Abstract

In an ideal world, inclusive travel services would value each person, support full participation and seek to embrace the similarities, as well as the differences, to be found in society. Anecdotally at least, it seems the unspoken truth for many individuals with a disability is that efforts to engage in any form of travel are often thwarted by poor service provision, systemic bias and discrimination.

Using an inductive line of inquiry, this Australian study sought to detail how staff with a disability in the higher education sector negotiated their work-related travel responsibilities. Findings revealed that many felt compromised by current systems and practices with many required to go ‘above and beyond’ that expected of their work colleagues.

The results of the research project serve to inform employers about the often unvoiced challenges employees with disabilities face when meeting work-based travel expectations. The findings also contribute directly to the transformative service research agenda by offering clear insight into how the travel and hospitality industry might be more inclusive of employees travelling for work-based purposes to the benefit of all parties.