eSight Members Show Why Employers Need to Seek Creative Survivors
(New York City, NY - October 4, 2005) Individuals with disabilities can be valuable employees. They tend to bring a creativity to the workplace based on what they've learned in solving problems which stem from their vulnerabilities.
And, they're "survivors" because they've often managed to use their creativity to overcome or sidestep barriers to thrive in the mainstream.
"Such problem-solving know-how can be transferred to a work situation and help a workplace team develop the elasticity it needs today to compete on a global scale," observes Jim Hasse, senior content developer for eSight Careers Network - http://www.eSight.org
"An all able-bodied workforce, on the other hand, can become flabby in terms of creativity and problem-solving, precisely because it lacks diversity and does not include individuals who look at opportunities just a little bit differently than the rest of us, Hasse points out.
That's the message for employers, Hasse says, that popped out of the September 2005 discussion members of eSight Careers Network had on their "Swimming in the Mainstream" (SiM) blog about how individuals with a disability can survive in mainstream employment.
The Employer Resources section of eSight includes a summary of the discussion from an employer's standpoint in the article, "Creative Survivors Add Elasticity to Your Workforce," Hasse wrote for eSight.
The article is available at
http://www.eSight.org/View.cfm?x=1827
Specifically, the SiM participants discussed this question:
What special rules for survival have you, as a person living with a disability, created for yourself at work?
SiM blogger Liz replied:
"...Choose how you're going to react to everyone and everything at work or anywhere else. You can be nasty and bitter and resentful and negative and reactionary because no one understands or you can choose not to be and help them understand while still standing your ground..."
And Melissa wrote:
"If someone is really making your work life miserable and nothing seems to work, check to see if your company offers any resources that could help. I had an employer that offered a hotline for all employees where they could anonymously get advice on work-related issues. I used it more than once."
Available at http://www.tabinc.org/sim/, eSight's SiM blog is designed to help:
1. eSight members share their personal experiences as individuals with a disability in the workplace.
2. Job seekers showcase their accomplishments to prospective employers.
3. Employers expand their awareness of disability employment issues.
The blog is made possible by a grant the American Express Foundation has awarded to The Associated Blind, Inc.
The Associated Blind, Inc., a 66-year-old non-profit organization, has been providing members of eSight Careers Network opportunities to collaborate on disability employment issues through accessible online discussions and resource building since October 2000.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Source: The Associated Blind, Inc.
Contact: Nancy O'Connell, Executive Director
Tel: (+1) 212 683 4950
E-mail: MemberServices@eSight.org
Online community: www.eSight.org
Blogs: http://www.tabinc.org/jsn/
http://www.tabinc.org/sim/
http://www.tabinc.org/blog/
2006-01-06 00:00:00
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