BACK TO WORK
Helping a person get a job after months—or years—of recovery from a disability
BY:NANCY HENDERSON
Finding a job in a competitive market is tough. But the search is more challenging for those who've faced a disabling illness or injury. So how do you help your loved one deal with the prospect of going back to work, especially if his or her disability is obvious? And what hurdles will you have to help this person face in order to get the job?
First, your loved one must acknowledge that his work style and abilities may never be quite the same as they once were, says George Kessinger, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, which provides job training and placement services for people with disabilities. "Change is challenging. After a long absence from work, there's just a lot more than getting up in the morning and saying, ‘Well, today I'm gonna go get that job.' It's quite a psychological process to get back to work and not expect anything to be the way it was before."
Your loved one also will need your help to understand that dealing with his emotions is critical. "All of a sudden," says Nancy Starnes, vice president and chief of staff for the National Organization on Disability (NOD), "you just may feel differently about yourself. It takes a lot of energy to be perky and say, ‘Everything is fine,' and internalize the feelings that you as a person with a disability really feel." She should know, being a wheelchair user since becoming disabled in 1973 (CLICK HERE for her story).
Fatigue and reduced physical stamina pose problems, too. So do transportation issues, especially for people with mobility, visual and hearing impairments. Then there's a condition Kessinger refers to as "compensation psychosis" for people who have become financially dependent on government benefits and are afraid to lose them. "Over time that becomes a lifestyle," he notes, "and moving back into the work environment becomes a threatening feeling."
Despite these stumbling blocks, a person who incurs a life-changing disability after working for many years often has an advantage over someone who is fresh out of school, says Daniel J. Ryan, director of career services at the University at Buffalo and author of Job Search Handbook for People with Disabilities. "Returning to work is a lot different than starting," he says. "Things are frankly much easier for a person whose disability occurs later in life because he's already established himself. People already know he has the ability to do the job."
So how can you prompt the person you've been caring for to become more independent and confident as a returning member of the workforce? These common jobseeker tips take a needed twist when you team up to work on them together:
Do Your Homework
Research options online. The Job Accommodation Network, a free program of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, offers both website and phone advice (800-526-7234) about skill assessment, interview techniques and accommodations. Local resources, such as vocational rehabilitation offices, independent-living centers and your loved one's own rehab specialists can provide information on everything from workplace regulations to the personal experiences of other disabled jobseekers. Have your loved one join a support group in which he can role-play job interviews, share frustrations and find camaraderie with similarly situated peers.
Because people with disabilities sometimes feel torn between earning real wages and keeping their government benefits, such as Social Security Disability Income, check with your local Social Security office to find out how much one can earn on the job while still drawing at least part of her supplemental income. Even when government support is traded for a paycheck, if the job doesn't work out, a reinstatement request can be filed so that benefits could resume within a few weeks.
Prep for the Interview
Misconceptions are widespread. Even now, 16 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, regular surveys by NOD and the Harris Poll show that only one-third of disabled working-age adults are employed, compared to two-thirds of those without disabilities. One reason is that many business owners and human resources personnel believe the accommodations will be too expensive or that disabled workers can't keep up. These myths can be counteracted by sharing research that dispels them.
A 1990 DuPont study, for instance, found that 90 percent of employees with disabilities showed average or above-average ratings in job performance, dependability, safety and attendance. And separate surveys conducted by Rutgers University and the University of Iowa confirmed that most accommodations cost nothing. Alert your jobseeker to this. And before she goes on any interview, help her do some research to pinpoint what she might need, such as a simple chair adjustment or a wider path to her desk. Have her visit an assistive-technology center to learn how to use voice-activated computer software or other devices.
Such preparation also will pump up your jobseeker's confidence, says Ryan. "Everyone in an interview is likely to be bluffing to some extent to try to cover their natural nervous feelings," he explains. "However, the way to best combat nervousness is to know what you're talking about." Build the person up, says Ryan, by reminding her: "You're not looking for charity. You're not looking for a job you can't perform. You know that you can do this, and that's going to help you beat [your anxiety] to some extent. It won't eliminate it, but it should reduce it."
Be Proactive, Invite Questions
Bring up potential concerns before the prospective employer does, is interview advice you should provide your jobseeker. Ryan cites a woman who hadn't had a seizure in eight years, but whose medication slowed her speech. "The client had read books that told her not to reveal her disability, but I thought, in her case, it would be a mistake not to address it directly," he says. "This was a woman who was in Mensa; she clearly was a bright woman. But I'm sure people were mistaking her speech pattern for a lack of intelligence. If your disability is apparent at all, I believe it's best to address it head-on."
Remind her to invite the interviewer to ask questions, says Starnes. Have her take the opportunity to explain how she plans to manage the job's particulars. Also have her suggest and cost-out reasonable accommodations.
"A person going on an interview should anticipate that the person on the other side of the desk may make some broad assumptions about her abilities based on her being in a wheelchair or using a crutch or being blind or deaf," Kessinger points out. "So the interviewee has to be thinking, ‘What can I do to convince them that the accommodations are going to be well worth it to have a grateful and worthy employee?' Often, raising a desk just a few inches by lifting it on bricks or a board and making it so that a wheelchair can go under it works just fine. You don't necessarily need an automatically operated lift with hydraulic jacks."
And get your jobseeker ready to handle some difficult questions, including those about resumé gaps if she's been out of the job market for a while. Help create a functional (vs. linear) work history that sidesteps that period of time or plays up the consulting work she did while recovering. And, by all means, stress honesty. If the interviewer asks about the months or years she wasn't working, have her explain the illness or accident, the rehabilitation process, and how she stayed up to date with industry goings-on.
Ask to Prove It
Your loved one can offer to prove himself if the potential employer still has reservations. Ryan suggests that he say: "‘If you don't mind, I'd love the opportunity to show you. You need someone to write a letter or a press release? Need someone to analyze some spreadsheets? Whatever it is, give me the opportunity and I'll show you I can do this job.' And, you know what? This rings more true than for the person without a disability who tries to talk their way into an on-the-job test."