Q&A: Disability & Work

One of the biggest topics I get asked about is how I manage to navigate work with chronic illness. I’m planning on making a video with a friend of mine about this topic soon, but I thought it might be interesting to speak with an employer – my employer – and ask some of the questions that many of you kindly shared with me on my Instagram Stories.

I’m pretty confident that without the support of Ian George,  I wouldn’t be doing the job that I am, so I owe a lot to him, and thought he’d be the perfect person to interview! I hope this can provide a different perspective on some of the questions that you may have on working and chronic illness.

What is your job, and what exactly does your role entail?

I’m a project manager working in BBC News. I work across a few projects, the main one running Extend in News, a programme to recruit and develop disabled journalists and production staff across BBC News.

Can you tell us a little bit about the BBC Extend in News scheme and what the process was like getting it set up?

EiN was started in 2017 as an initiative to both increase the numbers of and support disabled journalists working in BBC News and Current Affairs.

Another aim of it was to drive disability focused content, programming and features so that BBC News can be more reflective towards its audiences, which I think is really important.

Another achievement of EiN has been to help drive culture change within the organisation and make managers and staff more disability aware and confident, which really drives inclusion.

It was quite daunting setting it up very quickly, as it was introduced by the then Head of News, James Harding. I was brought into running it in March 2017 and we needed to get people started by July 2017, so it was a very hard working and intense four months!

Luckily I used to run the pan BBC disability scheme ‘Extend’ so I had a good idea of how to hit the ground quickly – and we ended up recruiting 15 amazing people into BBC News teams!

How did you go about trying to make the application process as inclusive as possible – and have things changed over the years with this?

As it is for recruiting journalists and editorial people we wanted to see how creative, news savvy/focused and driven people were, so we wanted to get a good idea of their skills. Obviously when recruiting disabled staff there are so many different disabilities, so to create a level playing field we asked for a written answer, but also video or audio, as wanted to be as inclusive as possible.

We have stuck with this format, as it works well, but I will always go above and beyond to speak with and help applicants – for example last year there was someone who wanted to apply and show their editing skills, but didn’t have access to the software at home, so I arranged for them to do an editing test in a local BBC office.

We also now recruit production management staff as well, who work with the organisation and management of productions, to attract people with a different skillset.

When I was first told about the scheme, I was incredibly reluctant to apply because I didn’t believe that it would be truly accessible for me. I was encouraged to come in and meet with you, and was assured (after I just word vomited everything about how my health impacts my work) that if I was offered a position, you would make it work. Is this a problem that you’re encountering with potential candidates feeling like they still can’t apply for these reasons, and how are you going about trying to manage this?

I think that we make a real effort to show on our site and the videos that we make that we will go out of our way to make Extend as accessible as possible, so it is about communication- and also having wonderful ambassadors such as yourself and other Extend staff showing that anything is possible if we put our collective minds to it – and spreading the word.

I think through my many years of recruiting and developing disabled staff in general that there has always been reticence to apply for BBC jobs. I’ve been told so many times in interviews and conversations ‘I didn’t think that the BBC would want someone like me to work for them.’

This couldn’t be more wrong, when in fact hiring managers told me that if the people had applied through the normal route rather than through a scheme then they would have stood a great chance of getting the job.

Saying that, I think it’s great that I can run Extend in News, as it does promote and support opportunities for people who might lack in confidence.

And a large part of coming into a job with Extend in News is that you get ongoing support in terms of access requirements and also career development.

We can all admit that there was a bit of a learning curve with me when I first started, as energy-limiting conditions like mine weren’t really taken into consideration as part of the wider scheme. You were all so wonderful and supportive about finding ways to manage my health alongside my work. What have you learned about managing employees with chronic health conditions like mine and how have things changed in order to accommodate these needs?

I think for me Extend in News is about finding the most amazing and talented people and treating everyone as an individual and then looking at the needs they have.

We recruit to find the right person and then match that person to the right job opportunity for them and make it work as best we can. If it doesn’t work for whatever reason I will have a discussion and move that person to a better suited team or area of work.

With regards to chronic health conditions, in this day and age flexible working is also becoming the norm, so in your example, we realised that you are a great writer, so let you write! You don’t have to be in an office to do this, so we worked with you to get the best out of you, which hopefully has worked.

I’m sure you’ll be the first to admit that doing this does feel isolating, especially when you don’t have the energy to come into the office for the majority of your working time, but with an understanding manager and team you have achieved amazing work!

Similarly I will look at every person as an individual and speak with them to assess what that person needs to be able to feel supported and work to the best of their abilities.

How do you create an environment where people feel safe to disclose their disabilities during the application process and not worry they’ll be penalised for it?

I think with reference to earlier questions, it helps disclosure and confidence a lot by having a disability initiative such as Extend in News, as it does make people feel that they can be themselves and open about any support needed.

Also I think it is a very good thing that Extend in News recruits people into actual jobs rather than being a ‘trainee’ scheme, as although there is always an element of development to each job and person, if people have the skills and experience to be a researcher, journalist, senior journalist, why should they not be given a job, rather than be labelled a trainee, which they are clearly not.

As an employer, at what stage of the application process would you recommend people speak about their disabilities and access needs?

I would always recommend someone getting in touch if they are having problems with the application process for starters, as there are so many reasonable adjustments that can be made.

And when invited to an interview also be as clear about adjustments as you can be from the outset to help the people interviewing you get understanding of your needs, so they can support you as much as possible.

At the end of the day I want everyone to shine and do the best they can, so creating a level playing field to make this happen is key.

From your perspective, is someone having big time gaps in their a CV a problem? Do people need to explain these and what are some good ways to go about this?

I’m very easy going and understanding and look purely for people’s skills and talent – a CV helps paint a picture, but not the whole one. So it doesn’t matter to me if there is a time gap that can be easily explained for whatever reason. As long as that person is great at what they do that’s all that really matters to me.

Is it worth applying to jobs if you need part time/flexible hours etc if the job is advertised as full time?

Of course – especially with Extend in News we make a bit point of saying that this is about the individual. Find the best person for the job and then look at what they need. If it’s part time or flexible working then that will happen.

In general across BBC News I know that a similar approach is taken, as there is a big push by the News Development Director Katie Lloyd and her team to be supportive of part time working and job shares.

I remember asking you this quite flippantly in the past, but I guess it speaks to a wider question: is actually managing me all that more difficult than a ‘healthy’ employee?

Everyone is unique and has different needs whatever their circumstances, from someone like you with chronic health to someone who is ‘healthy’, but has to work more flexibly due to childcare issues for example, so for me it makes no odds and I treat everyone as a unique individual.

So no, for me, managing you is no different at all – it’s all about understanding what any individual needs and having a discussion as to how that can be made to work around the job.

How do you recommend employees and their employers navigate people who need to work remotely and/or with non-traditional hours?

I would always recommend doing a report as a starting point and having an open and honest conversation about any work impact for reasons of disability, health and / or any other circumstance. For disabled members of staff working at the BBC I always make an access report a prerequisite before the person starts work so that everyone knows what needs to be put in place for the individual and how the manager can also be supported, whether it be home working, support workers, sign language interpreters, or assistive technology etc.

Do you have any advice on how people can make the most of working from home while still feeling part of a team?

There are loads of communication channels these days such as video calling and messaging apps that can really help with feeling part of a team – also just phone calls and regular communication through emails are very good things to do as well – and if you are able to get into an office even for a couple of hours a week too – health permitting – that can add a face to face element as well as video calling.

How do you handle ‘non-traditional’ absence levels for people who may need to take time off every now and then for unknown periods of time? And how do you navigate the ‘reliability’ conversation with other members of the team?

I think having an open and honest conversation from the outset is the best approach to this and promotes understanding with managers that there may be periods of time where illness seriously affects people with chronic health, so support mechanisms can be put into place to make sure that you get the rehabilitation you need and then also get integrated gently back into work so to best manage your health levels. Good communication across teams is really important here.

Can you tell us a little bit about the work you do facilitating ongoing conversations between staff and their managers in terms of the long-term support for disabled people once they’re in their roles?

Of course. Development is the key to success for Extend in News and I ensure that every staff member has a development objectives meeting to talk about the goals that individuals want to achieve during their time here with their manager. This is ongoing. I also set up support mechanisms such as buddying and mentors, where people are paired up with people who have a lot of experience and can help as well.

In terms of workplace support for disabilities we have a dedicated Access Unit that do reports and I make sure that any problem is dealt with quickly and resolved.

What have the biggest benefits you’ve found by being an inclusive employer?

It’s twofold I think for me.

The wealth and diversity of new content that has been produced by amazingly talented people, which wouldn’t have necessarily happened if we didn’t invest in people like this.

Also culturally in the workplace it’s great to see people from all backgrounds working together.

I love my job because I actually learn something new every day about an aspect of disability – and learning about other people and their lives really does educate and enrich a company.

What have been some of the biggest challenges of Extend so far?

The biggest challenge is building awareness of what we are doing across the BBC and helping to make serious culture change.

There definitely needs to be more representation of disabled staff at a senior level and that’s something I am also working on at the moment, running an Extend in Leadership development programme to help people become senior leaders.

Where do you feel you still need to make progress with Extend?

Definitely in leadership and also getting more representation and on screen time for disabled journalists and presenters.

Why do you think there’s still a problem with many employers being unwilling to hire disabled people? What do you think needs to change?

People are generally scared of the unknown – but they needn’t be, as there is a wealth of talented disabled people who really want to work.

Smaller organisations also don’t necessarily have the expertise and support mechanisms – but again that is easily rectified with HR and manager training.

Equality to me is removing barriers to provide a level playing field so that people can be supported to be the best they can be.

How can workplaces create an authentic culture of diversity – so not just the ‘token’ disabled person?

By openly encouraging job applications from disabled people and by having leadership that reflects and understands all the benefits that can come from having a diverse workplace.

I really hate the work ‘token’, as every person I have ever recruited is definitely not that – they have been hired to do a job and do that job to the best of their ability – and the fact that loads of people are now in permanent BBC jobs or working in roles across the industry is testament to their skill, ability and hard work – never tokenism.

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Top illustration by @thisthingtheycallrecovery.