If you’re an employer who is new to the world of disability diversity and inclusion, you may be looking for general guidance and background on the what, why and how of making your organization more welcoming and accessible to applicants and employees with disabilities. Consider this your starting point for understanding how hiring workers with disabilities can benefit your business – and the ways EARN can help.

Why should employers care about creating a disability-inclusive workplace?

EARN is on a mission to help employers weave disability into their diversity and inclusion efforts. Why? Because recruiting, hiring, retaining and advancing workers with disabilities is good for America and good for business. Progressive employers everywhere are learning that businesses inclusive of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, benefit from a wider pool of talent, skills and creative business solutions. They’re also recognizing disability diversity as an important way to tap into a growing market, since people with disabilities represent the third largest market segment in the U.S. So by proactively employing individuals with disabilities, businesses can gain a better understanding of how to meet the needs of this important and expanding customer base.

You may be asking, what skill sets could employees with disabilities bring to my company? The answer is as diverse as the skillsets of any qualified individuals. But, individuals with disabilities may also offer employers a competitive edge, helping diversify and strengthen their workplaces through varied perspectives on how to confront challenges and get the job done. They bring creativity, innovation, problem solving and commitment to the workplace. Studies have shown that employees with disabilities stay at jobs longer, thus reducing the time and cost involved in retraining and replacing personnel. Other benefits reported by businesses include improvement in productivity and morale and more diversity in the workplace. And these benefits can have a real impact on a company’s bottom line. In October 2018, Accenture, in partnership with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN, released “Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage,” a report that revealed that companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting people with disabilities in their workforces consistently outperform their peers, including having, on average, 28 percent higher revenue, double the net income and 30 percent higher economic profit margins.

What does it mean to be disability-inclusive?

There are numerous characteristics associated with disability-friendly companies, and what’s often surprising to employers is that most inclusion practices geared toward employees and job seekers with disabilities have the added bonus of benefiting everyone. Some common characteristics of disability-inclusive companies include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Fostering an INCLUSIVE BUSINESS CULTURE, starting with expressions of commitment from the highest levels and carried across an organization wide through practices such as disability-focused employee resource groups and engagement activities.
• Ensuring disability-inclusive OUTREACH & RECRUITMENT by developing relationships with a variety of recruitment sources in order to build a pipeline of qualified candidates with disabilities for the future.
• Promoting disability-inclusive TALENT ACQUISITION & RETENTION PROCESSES by establishing personnel systems and job descriptions that facilitate not only the hiring but also advancement of qualified individuals with disabilities.
• Providing the ACCOMMODATIONS employees with disabilities may need to do their jobs effectively, whether that means assistive technology, a flexible schedule or numerous other reasonable accommodations or productivity enhancements.
• Taking steps to ensure EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATION OF COMPANY POLICIES & PRACTICES around its commitment to disability inclusion and providing training on disability-related workplace issues to staff.
• Ensuring a barrier-free workplace by maintaining ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, as well as a workplace that is physically and attitudinally  accessible.
• Promoting ACCOUNTABILITY & SELF-IDENTIFICATION, if appropriate, by adopting written policies, practices and procedures and measuring their effectiveness in order to identify areas for improvement.

For more information about these seven core components of a disability-inclusive organization, and a menu of strategies for achieving them, visit the Inclusion@Work Framework for Building a Disability-Inclusive Organization.

John Kemp,  President and CEO of The Viscardi Center, explains the benefits of fostering a disability-inclusive culture in your organization.

Other Types of Invisible Disabilities

• Chronic Pain: A variety of conditions may cause chronic pain. A few of those reasons may be back problems, bone disease, physical injuries, and any number of other reasons. Chronic pain may not be noticeable to people who do not understand the victims specific medical condition.
• Chronic Fatigue: This type of disability refers to an individual who constantly feels tired. This can be extremely debilitating and affect every aspect of a persons every day life.
• Mental Illness: There are many mental illnesses that do qualify for disability benefits. Some examples are depression, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, agoraphobia, and many others. These diseases can also be completely debilitating to the victim, and can make performing everyday tasks extremely difficult, if not impossible.
• Chronic Dizziness: Often associated with problems of the inner ear, chronic dizziness can lead to impairment when walking, driving, working, sleeping, and other common tasks.

People with psychiatric disabilities make up a large segment of the invisibly-disabled population.

Invisible disabilities can also include chronic illnesses such as renal failure, diabetes, and sleep disorders if those diseases significantly impair normal activities of daily living. If a medical condition does not impair normal activities, then it is not considered a disability.

96% of people with chronic medical conditions live with an illness that is invisible.

Many people living with a hidden physical disability or mental challenge are still able to be active in their hobbies, work and be active in sports. On the other hand, some struggle just to get through their day at work and some cannot work at all.

List of SOME Invisible Disabilities

• ADHD
• Anosmia
• Anxiety disorders
• Allergies
• Arachnoiditis
• Asperger Syndrome
• Asthma
• Autism
• Bipolar disorder
• Brain injuries
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Chronic pain
• Circadian rhythm sleep disorders
• Coeliac Disease
• Crohn’s disease
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
• Endometreosis
• Epilepsy
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
• Fibromyalgia
• Food allergies
• Fructose malabsorption
• Hereditary Fructose Intolerance
• Hyperhidrosis
• Hypoglycemia
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Interstitial cystitis
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Lactose Intolerance
• Lupus
• Lyme Disease
• Major depression
• Metabolic syndrome
• Migraines
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Narcolepsy
• Personality disorders
• Primary immunodeficiency
• Psychiatric disabilities
• Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
• Repetitive stress injuries
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Schnitzler’s Syndrome
• Schizophrenia
• Scleroderma
• Sjögren’s Syndrome
• Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Spinal Disorders
• Temporomandibular joint disorder
• Transverse Myelitis

Invisable Disability VIDEO

WorkBC Princeton welcomes you to come into our centre and look at our Job Board!

WorkBC  welcomes you to check out our Job Board at 206 Vermilion Ave!!

We have created virtual services for those who qualify. If you are immune compromised please contact us @ 250-295-4051 or email reception@princetoncsc.com to see how we can serve you virtually!

Princeton, if you need any assistance moving your career forward or maximizing your earning potential… Please come and see us!

We are OPEN and happy to serve you!

New Recovery Benefits

If you were receiving CERB, you may be eligible for one of the new recovery benefits retroactive to September 27, 2020 and available until September 25, 2021.

Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)

The Canada Recovery Benefit will provide eligible workers with $500 per week (taxable, tax deducted at source) for up to 26 weeks for those who have stopped working and who are not eligible for EI, or had their employment/self-employment income reduced by at least 50% due to COVID-19. This benefit will be paid in two-week periods.

Learn more about the Canada Recovery Benefit

Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)

The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) will provide $500 per week (taxable, tax deducted at source) for up to 26 weeks per household for workers unable to work for at least 50% of the week because they must care for a child under the age of 12 or family member because schools, day-cares or care facilities are closed due to COVID-19, or because the child or family member is sick and/or required to quarantine or is at high risk of serious health implications because of COVID-19. This benefit will be paid in one-week periods.

Learn more about the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit

Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)

The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) will provide $500 per week (taxable, tax deducted at source) for up to a maximum of two weeks, for workers who are unable to work for at least 50% of the week because they contracted COVID-19, self-isolated for reasons related to COVID-19, or have underlying conditions, are undergoing treatments or have contracted other sicknesses that, in the opinion of a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, person in authority, government or public health authority, would make them more susceptible to COVID-19. This benefit will be paid in one-week periods.

Learn more about the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit

Questions and answers

Questions about the Canada Recovery Benefits

Please read these questions and answers for more details.

Questions about the temporary changes to EI

Please read these questions and answers for more details.

In this labour market Employers are looking for engaged, mindful, resilient and professional Rockstar’s to collaborate on a myriad of troubles facing the workplace.  When it comes to selling yourself in an interview or for a promotion,  you might need to start beefing up the superpower skills bank.  Employers are looking for you to be a compelling career storyteller that identifies your value and communicates  superpower skills sets,  using a positive narrative that reflects the skills you’ve cultivated as a result of challenges, deadlines and pivot points in your career.  Gone are the dark and evil villians and tortured victims; left are the  shining hero’s of our own careers in the fight against a rapidly changing, fast moving, covid cruel work world! We have an incredible team at WorkBC to help you harness your talents and focus in on your Career Superpowers, Interested? Contact us, we would be happy to shine a light where its Dark. If you want to get started right now, here is a great resource for you to work thru from home!

Unlock Your Superpowers WorkBook PDF

Career Superpowers is the theme for FALL 2020 of Ceric’s issue of Careering.  Career Superpowers, reminds us of the many skills and attributes that can serve as powerful tools in Career Development. From resilience to mindfulness, storytelling to skills awareness, this issue’s topics highlight the many ways career professionals can help clients and students become the heroes of their own career journeys.  At WorkBC we provide tools to help get you  through tumultuous times, and offer guidance on navigating barriers to career success.  

As we all continue to make our way through COVID-19, it is easy to focus on the challenges. We can’t escape them. However, the strengths, skills and tools described in this issue are ones that anyone can use or develop – and that’s something to celebrate! Career development is a superpower, and we need it now, more than ever.  WorkBC wants you to be able to access this SUPERPOWER today! We are only a call or click away!

Call: 250-295-4051

Click: Princeton WorkBC

Click Here To See Your Copy!

WorkBC recognizes PDCSS as The Superstars of Service!!  

WorkBC has been honored to shine a light during the month of September on the employment of Persons with Disabilities.  We are confident that we have highlighted the creativity, compassion, and benefits of cultivating an openness in workplaces for people with diverse abilities.  From the inspiring story of Brion and his work experience at Lonsdale Key Market, to the initiatives of YVR, to the specialty programs of Community Futures for Entrepreneurs.   WorkBC provides support with access to specialized testing to uncover key skills and strengths, to customized employment specialists who bring to connection between the client and the Labour market.  

Here in Princeton our most satisfying highlight has been to honor Princeton & District Community Services Society & Paul G who is one of many kind and eager workers.  Over 40+ years ago, PDCSS committed to championing the value and abilities of these workers.  We began partnering with the Society in early 2019 around employment services, and have enjoyed the relationship we have built and have come to admire their commitment to their mandate.

We end Disability Employment Month with this final commemoration and a Certificate of Leadership.   Pictured above is Gloria Gagnon who is the Employment Program Director, and Becky Vermette who is the Executive Director.  When we arrived on site on Monday to make this presentation, they explained that they originally had Paul also scheduled to receive special recognition, but he was called into work and duty calls!