[Jobs] 6 Workplace Myths About People With Disabilities

[Peter Altschul]

6 Workplace Myths About People With Disabilities

 

By Eric L. Hinton

 

 

 

"How do you go to the bathroom?"

 

It's an incredibly rude question, one most people wouldn't even think to ask
another adult, especially in the workplace. But it's a question Cassie
Mitchell repeatedly has been asked by coworkers. What would possess someone
to ask such a question? Mitchell uses a wheelchair.

 

Mitchell, a 25-year-old biomedical engineer who's been paraplegic since
2000, has become accustomed to such boorish behavior from both colleagues
and complete strangers.

 

"There will be times when I'm in a restaurant with family or friends, and
when the waiter comes over, instead of taking my order directly from me,
he'll turn to the person I'm with and expect them to order for me. It's like
I'm not even there," she says.

 

Such ignorance about people with disabilities can lead to dehumanizing
predicaments. That same ignorance often morphs into myths, which can provide
ready-made excuses for employers who would rather look past a person with a
disability when filling open positions.

 

And even when they are hired, employees with disabilities often find that
the chief obstacle in the workplace isn't their disability-it's bias from
coworkers.

 

Here are six myths about people with disabilities in the workplace, courtesy
of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy.

 

Myth 1: A physical disability equals a mental disability.

 

Fact: A person with a physical disability, such as a motor or sensory
impairment, will be in full charge of his or her mental faculties unless the
disability directly affects cognitive functions. Unfortunately, in the minds
of many, physical and mental disabilities are intertwined.

 

"I had a friend that was in a wheelchair. But people would come up and
scream at him because they assumed his hearing was impaired as well," says
Sarah Helm, associate coordinator for career services at the University of
Tennessee. Helm is also the coordinator of the university's Disability
Careers Office. "Sometimes people think physical disabilities are linked
somehow with intelligence, and they aren't."

 

Myth 2: Employees with disabilities miss work at a much higher rate than
employees without disabilities.

 

Fact: Several studies, including data from three internal studies by DuPont
Corp., demonstrated that employees with disabilities typically have no
greater absenteeism rates than that of non-disabled employees.

 

Myth 3: Employees with disabilities often are unable to meet basic
performance standards, making them an unemployment risk.

 

Fact: A 1990 Dupont study, which surveyed the supervisors of 811 employees
with disabilities, found 90 percent rated average or better in job
performance, compared with 95 percent for employees without disabilities.

 

Myth 4: Employees with disabilities always need help. Taking the time to
assist them in getting acclimated to their work environment will hinder your
other employees, grinding productivity to a halt.

 

Fact: Many people with disabilities are independent and capable of giving
help as well as receiving it.

 

Myth 5: Employees with disabilities will have transportation problems
getting to work. They'll arrive late-when they arrive at all.

 

Fact: People with disabilities often are capable of supplying their own
modes of transportation to work just like any other employee.

 

Myth 6: Considerable expense is necessary to accommodate employees with
disabilities.

 

Fact: Following up an ongoing study by the U.S. Department of Labor's Job
Accommodation Network (JAN), the University of Iowa's Law, Health Policy,
and Disability Center (LHPDC) surveyed 778 employers that contacted JAN
between January 2004 and April 2005, representing a range of sectors.
According to respondents, most workers with disabilities require no special
accommodations and the cost for those that do is usually manageable.
Forty-two percent said the accommodation resulted in a one-time median cost
of $600.

 

"Many of the myths surrounding employees with disabilities result from a
lack of communication," says Helm. "Just ask questions. People feel they
should know everything about how to interact and deal with a person in a
particular situation, and that's just not the case if you're not exposed to
it. There are no hard and fast rules."

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6 Workplace Myths About People With Disabilities
 
By Eric L. Hinton
 
 
 
"How do you go to the bathroom?"
 
It's an incredibly rude question, one most people wouldn't even think to ask another adult, especially in the workplace. But it's a question Cassie Mitchell repeatedly has been asked by coworkers. What would possess someone to ask such a question? Mitchell uses a wheelchair.
 
Mitchell, a 25-year-old biomedical engineer who's been paraplegic since 2000, has become accustomed to such boorish behavior from both colleagues and complete strangers.
 
"There will be times when I'm in a restaurant with family or friends, and when the waiter comes over, instead of taking my order directly from me, he'll turn to the person I'm with and expect them to order for me. It's like I'm not even there," she says.
 
Such ignorance about people with disabilities can lead to dehumanizing predicaments. That same ignorance often morphs into myths, which can provide ready-made excuses for employers who would rather look past a person with a disability when filling open positions.
 
And even when they are hired, employees with disabilities often find that the chief obstacle in the workplace isn't their disability-it's bias from coworkers.
 
Here are six myths about people with disabilities in the workplace, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy.
 
Myth 1: A physical disability equals a mental disability.
 
Fact: A person with a physical disability, such as a motor or sensory impairment, will be in full charge of his or her mental faculties unless the disability directly affects cognitive functions. Unfortunately, in the minds of many, physical and mental disabilities are intertwined.
 
"I had a friend that was in a wheelchair. But people would come up and scream at him because they assumed his hearing was impaired as well," says Sarah Helm, associate coordinator for career services at the University of Tennessee. Helm is also the coordinator of the university's Disability Careers Office. "Sometimes people think physical disabilities are linked somehow with intelligence, and they aren't."
 
Myth 2: Employees with disabilities miss work at a much higher rate than employees without disabilities.
 
Fact: Several studies, including data from three internal studies by DuPont Corp., demonstrated that employees with disabilities typically have no greater absenteeism rates than that of non-disabled employees.
 
Myth 3: Employees with disabilities often are unable to meet basic performance standards, making them an unemployment risk.
 
Fact: A 1990 Dupont study, which surveyed the supervisors of 811 employees with disabilities, found 90 percent rated average or better in job performance, compared with 95 percent for employees without disabilities.
 
Myth 4: Employees with disabilities always need help. Taking the time to assist them in getting acclimated to their work environment will hinder your other employees, grinding productivity to a halt.
 
Fact: Many people with disabilities are independent and capable of giving help as well as receiving it.
 
Myth 5: Employees with disabilities will have transportation problems getting to work. They'll arrive late-when they arrive at all.
 
Fact: People with disabilities often are capable of supplying their own modes of transportation to work just like any other employee.
 
Myth 6: Considerable expense is necessary to accommodate employees with disabilities.
 
Fact: Following up an ongoing study by the U.S. Department of Labor's Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the University of Iowa's Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center (LHPDC) surveyed 778 employers that contacted JAN between January 2004 and April 2005, representing a range of sectors. According to respondents, most workers with disabilities require no special accommodations and the cost for those that do is usually manageable. Forty-two percent said the accommodation resulted in a one-time median cost of $600.
 
"Many of the myths surrounding employees with disabilities result from a lack of communication," says Helm. "Just ask questions. People feel they should know everything about how to interact and deal with a person in a particular situation, and that's just not the case if you're not exposed to it. There are no hard and fast rules."