I'm a former corporate accommodation consultant and I have my own company now where I share info and answer questions related to accommodations, executive function training, and strategies to manage mental health at work. Here's some common questions I get: Are things like depression, ADHD, autism, dyslexia and anxiety really considered disabilities? Yes. This includes chronic and episodic conditions that are substantially limiting when active, such as bipolar disorder. What are accommodations? Accommodations require medical documentation from a healthcare provider, which can be a therapist, counselor, psychiatrist, psychologist, GP, specialist doctor, etc. Accommodations support professionals to perform the essential functions of their job by providing adjustments to: - The work environment - Existing training materials or processes - Work hours and scheduling - Supervisory methods - Communication methods - Access to resources or assistive technology What are examples of accommodations I could ask for? - Reduced schedule - Maximum of 2 hour meeting blocks to allow for breaks - Adjusted schedule, such as shifting core hours to later in the day - Flexible schedule to allow time for medical appointments during workday - Intermittent leave to accommodate unplanned flare-ups of medical condition - Uninterrupted work time, such as the ability to use DND for up to three hours per day - Noise cancelling headphones - Desk away from foot traffic for minimal distractions - Wall dividers on either side of desk to block visual distractions - Ability to work from home a certain number of days per week - Supervisor provides feedback in writing 24 hours in advance of 1:1 so employee has time to process feedback. - Written instructions for tasks with explicit timeline, due dates, and clear expectations and measures of success - Adopting a succinct or explicit communication style in conversations and emails with employee. - Verbal or written recaps after lengthy or complex conversations - Job Coaching. Typically 10 sessions with a job coach over the course of 3 months, learn more here: https://www.vocawell.com/coaching-services - Note-taker for meetings or ability to use note-taking software - Reading & writing software such as Ghotit Dyslexia Software, Open Dyslexic Font, Pro Writing Aid, Grammarly, Otter.AI Notetaking, RocketBook, Echo Pen, Dragon Speech Recognition - Task management software such as Todoist, Omnifocus, Notion, etc. - Using color or bolding to highlight action items and important questions in emails - Advance notice of public speaking events - Ability to turn off camera in meetings - Ability to record meetings, use captions, access transcripts - Ability to participate in meetings via chat instead of verbally - Written recaps after 1:1 meetings, detailing action items, expectations, and deadlines - Specifications for format projects should be in and examples - Ability to collaborate with manager on breaking down large projects to smaller milestones and deadlines, or ability to use 1:1s to review workload and prioritize tasks with manager - Extra time to learn new information - Additional time to obtain necessary certifications for job - Additional training tools. Example: a phone script for typical phone interactions - Ability to record trainings, use captions, review training materials in advance, and/or get transcripts - Weekly job shadowing of a top performer Will my accommodation requests be approved? It depends! I’ve seen most of these accommodations both approved and denied, sometimes both by the same employer. It depends on the team's specific business needs and the employee’s medical needs. Accommodations are often a negotiation process to figure out what's effective and reasonable for both parties; there's no "rulebook" that outlines everything that's reasonable and unreasonable. HR, managers, and employees often work together to create effective accommodations. The best way to find out is to start by requesting a confidential conversation with a member of your accommodations or HR team. While I'm ramping up my business I'm giving free 30 minute consultations on questions related to managing mental health and neurodivergence at work. You can use this link schedule to schedule a confidential consultation with me here: https://www.vocawell.com/book-online #burnout #depression #mentalhealth #neurodiversity #accommodations
Hi, for my request around breaking down big projects and help with prioritization, I consistently get a response a la "a person in your job and level is expected to be able to do this independently". How do you suggest navigating this? My needs and impairment are well documented and medically certified and have to do with memory and processing speed, which makes task tracking and multitasking a real problem. Is this a denial of reasonable accommodation? I'm a mid-level product manager.
Great question! So if an essential job function is the ability to independently break down and prioritize projects, then you probably won't get a permanent accommodation for it. Instead, you could approach this by requesting a temporary accommodation of extra support or request an accommodation of additional training. These are more likely to get approved. This is also where job coaching is often used as a reasonable accommodation. You can request 10-12 sessions with a job coach to learn new ways to break down projects and prioritize tasks.
Is asking to speak virtually, if it’s more comfortable, instead of in-person due to social anxiety a reasonable accommodation?
Personal Finance
Yesterday
1965
Thank you AAPL and NVDA
World Conflicts
10h
904
Why do Indians support Israel so much( on blind surprisingly) when Israel really thinks 💩of them ?
Today I Learned
Yesterday
1701
White male privilege is real
2024 Presidential Election
Yesterday
246
Canceling debt isn’t inflationary or costing tax payers
World Conflicts
2h
306
Pro Palestine resident threatens to murder city council
You are saying I can ask for free noise canceling headphones?!
No joke, noise cancelling headphones are one of the most common accommodation requests. Bose even has a special accommodation portal for companies to order from.