I'm Disabled — And Here Are 3 Meaningful Ways Your Company Can Foster a More Inclusive Workplace

Disability Awareness Month is not just about acknowledging the hardships that come with having a disability — it's also about recognizing the work of disabled people and how we can make physical spaces, policies and practices more accessible in the workplace.

I've lived with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, but I've never let it affect my corporate position for over two decades, and I've seen firsthand what true inclusion can do for an organization.

Related: How to Revolutionize Your Organization Through the Power of Inclusive Leadership

Here are three meaningful ways companies can observe Disability Awareness Month and make lasting changes:

1. Organizing educational workshops and training sessions

Team-building training and workshops are the best ways to celebrate Disability Awareness Month. Workshops can dispel myths and prejudices about people with disabilities and educate employees on appropriate etiquette and awareness when discussing and working with people with disabilities. This includes appropriate and inappropriate behavior and language, accessibility considerations and more. Workshops and training sessions can serve as the foundation for creating an inviting environment that can promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace.

• Bring in guest speakers: Invite experts, advocates or a person living with a disability to share their insight and experiences. Real-world stories can help employees better understand the difficulties and triumphs faced by people with disabilities. These events are also a way for employees with disabilities to be guest speakers, further enhance the dialogue and build a sense of community and belonging.
• Sensitization workshops: Conduct a workshop to educate employees on how to interact with people with disabilities and use correct terminology. The workshop should also create a safe environment where people can learn more about people with disabilities.

Employees will have a better understanding of disabilities, which can lead to more sympathetic and supportive work policies and better accommodation practices and policies within the workplace.

2. Heighten accessibility and accommodation practices

In honor of Disability Awareness Month, take a closer look at the current accessibility and accommodation practices within your company. Ensuring that your working environment, from the physical perspective, is universally accessible to everyone gives a foundation for creating an inclusive environment. Accommodation policies are intended to provide a barrier-free environment that allows people with disabilities to access employment, public services and facilities as independently as possible.

Accessible workplaces are not just about responding to minimum legal requirements; they ensure all employees can perform to the best of their abilities without unnecessary barriers.

• Accessibility audit: Have accessibility experts conduct assessments of the physical and electronic workplace. This will reveal where accessibility might be lacking, be it ramps and signs or websites and internal platforms that are more friendly for persons with vision or hearing impairments.
• Update accommodation policies: Frequently reevaluate your policies to ensure they are fully implemented across the workforce. Requests to update accommodation policies should not be met with friction — do not automatically refuse an accommodation request or have an inflexible policy that doesn't allow exceptions. Implement a simple and straightforward procedure for employees to submit a request for accommodations via a dedicated portal with step-by-step instructions where they feel heard and supported. Doing this can alleviate potential aggression or harassment and create a more inclusive and supportive workplace environment. This can also lead to a great opportunity for empathy training for HR and upper management.
• Invest in assistive technologies: All employees should be provided with tools and gadgets that will enhance their productivity, such as screen readers, voice recognition technologies, and ergonomic office supplies.

Employers who make their places of work accessible to all consider this a good inclusiveness policy. Such actions would benefit not only the specified employees with disabilities but also all employees, as diversity is an aspect of mutual respect towards employees and results in higher morale and productivity.

Related: How to Embrace People With Disabilities In Your Business: A Disability Advocate Explains

3. Celebrate and recognize employee contributions by people with disabilities

Another effective strategy for observing Disability Awareness Month is to celebrate employees with disabilities. Recognition and appreciation can be given in various ways, including honors, awards and talent performance.

Recognition enlightens and accentuates a sense of worth that comes with having a disability among employees.

• Spotlight stories: Feature stories of employees with disabilities in company newsletters, social media and internal communication channels. Share their stories, accomplishments and contributions because they will help the team feel inspired and educated.
• Awards and recognition: Incorporate awards specifically devoted to honoring the hard work and achievements of all employees, including staff with disabilities.
• Talent showcases: Organize an event where employees have a platform to showcase their talents and skills, such as art, music, writing or any other artistry, to appreciate the diversity of talent within the organization.

Celebrating and recognizing the contributions of all employees boosts their morale and makes them feel like part of the team. It also sets an excellent opportunity to appreciate all forms of diversity in the workplace.

Conclusion

Disability Awareness Month affords companies the perfect avenue to increase inclusivity and support for their employees with various disability conditions. Ways to achieve this would be through educational workshops, raising office accessibility, and recognizing contributions by people with disabilities.

These would not only benefit the employees with disabilities but also truly enhance the organizational culture by making it more robust and much more cohesive. Embracing all these makes for real change in life, whereby each employee feels valued and can contribute at their best. I, being one who has gone through the challenges and triumphs of being in the corporate world while disabled, can attest to what a tremendous difference genuine inclusion makes.

Let this month not just be about awareness but about concretizing actions that will make life different for employees with disabilities. Together, we can build workplaces where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.