How do we provide supportive management for people with disabilities in our workplaces? On this show Katie Manwiller, Education Librarian & Assistant Professor at West Chester University Libraries in Pennsylvania, Sammy Peter, Chair of Research and Instruction at the University of Wyoming, and Kiyomi Deards, Chair of the Libraries Faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln talk about what we need to know to support people of all abilities working in our organizations.
Transcript
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Adriane Herrick Juarez:
This is Adriane Herrick Juarez. You’re listening to Library Leadership Podcast, where we talk about libraries, and leadership, and speak with guests who share their ideas, innovations, and strategic insights into the profession.
How do we provide supportive management for people with disabilities in our workplaces? On this show Katie Manwiller, Education Librarian & Assistant Professor at West Chester University Libraries in Pennsylvania, Sammy Peter, Chair of Research and Instruction at the University of Wyoming, and Kiyomi Deards, Chair of the Libraries Faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln talk about what we need to know to support people of all abilities working in our organizations. Enjoy the show!
Katie, Sammy, and Kiyomi—welcome to the show.
Katie Manwiller:
Hi, thank you for having us.
Sammy Peter:
Thanks for having us.
Kiyomi Deards:
Hello.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #1: I appreciate you all being here to talk with me about providing supportive management for people with disabilities. Let’s start with you Katie, how is disability defined, and what does this mean for all of us in the workplace? 01:32
Katie Manwiller:
The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. This includes people who have a record of such an impairment even if they do not currently have a disability. The ADA Act Amendment of 2008 emphasizes that this definition should be interpreted in the broadest terms possible. In libraries and much of America we view disability in very limited terms, and often only think it includes people who are wheelchair users, deaf or hard of hearing folks, and people with intellectual abilities. But the legal protection goes far beyond this cultural assumption to include asthma, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, migraines, complications from pregnancy, thyroid gland disorders, and more.
Just like the stereotype of disability that is pervasive in our culture, disability in reality is far more common and often not visibly apparent. The CDC estimates that twenty-six percent of American adults are disabled and that number is often higher for people who experience other forms of marginalization based on race, or gender identity in America.
I want to stress that it is a legal definition used to ensure equal rights, and may not necessarily match with a person’s individual choice to identify as disabled. A person may meet these qualifications—having an impairment that limits one of the major life activities and not identify as disabled or feel that they impaired enough to be considered disabled.
In addition, being disabled is not a formal diagnosis you get from a doctor. You may have a diagnosis that qualifies you as disabled, but first and foremost a legal term in this contract is not medical. That legal definition is what allows for protection against discrimination, and equal access to the workplace under the ADA.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #2: Katie, what do we need to know about accommodations? What are the steps for making these happen, and are there any barriers we should know about? 03:32
Katie Manwiller:
Reasonable accommodations as the process outlined in the ADA, provide equitable access to the workplace for people with disabilities. They are a modification, or an adjustment to a job, or work environment, or the way things are done in the hiring process to allow access. These are things like change of job tasks; providing reserved parking; improving accessibility in work areas through seating or spacing; providing or adjusting a product, equipment or software; allowing a flexible work schedule, including remote work; providing an aid; or a service like closed captioning; or reassigning a person to a vacant position. This is designed as a highly individualized process where the disabled person engages in what’s called the interactive process with their Human Resources, or equivalent, to discuss how their disability is preventing them from completing their job duties—to determine an appropriate adjustment to remove that barrier, and then monitor the accommodation to determine if it is successful.
This process sounds straightforward, but it’s actually extremely difficult to navigate. Most people have no idea that it even exists, or how to go about asking for help if they need it. It’s not something that’s often included in HR training, onboarding processes, or anything like that. Even if they are familiar with it many disabled employees choose not to go through with it because it requires disclosure of disability to some degree. That is not always the safest thing to do in the workplace. They could have an unsupportive supervisor who might withhold professional opportunities, or colleagues who socially ostracize them, or complain that they’re receiving special treatment.
This is especially concerning for multi-marginalized folks like people of color, or trans people who may already be facing microaggressions, or worse at work. That behavior may not be legal, but it certainly still occurs. Even if a person’s immediate work colleagues are great, the disabled person faces a lot of barriers in the negotiation with HR. Human Resources is there to protect the employer and often chooses whatever is easiest for them over what’s best for the employee
For example, while only minimal medical documentation is legally required for this process, many HR’s make employees and their doctors complete extensive and invasive paperwork to even schedule a meeting. HR is also who gets to decide what accommodation is most reasonable for the workplace and are not required to go with what the employee’s doctor recommends. It’s extremely daunting to navigate, and can take months. Often it is more stress and energy to go through it and people prefer to self-accommodate where they can.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #3: Does this apply to all libraries? 06:18
Katie Manwiller:
The workplace protections under the Americans with Disability Act apply to any workplace that has fifteen or more employees. Some small public libraries, this might not technically apply to, but in the name of equal access to all—all libraries should be providing inclusive and accessible workplaces for disabled employees.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #4: Kiyomi, how can we all become more knowledgeable and compassionate to support people with disabilities in the workplace? 06:40
Kiyomi Deards:
I think the first thing is to accommodate people as soon as possible, if you can do so, without going through the process. Listen without judgement and know what the process is for formal accommodations, even though not everyone will want to go through that—people that do, it will provide them protection, especially if they have a change in supervisor and the person who approved the original accommodation is no longer there.
Also, plan for people in the margins when you’re doing a renovation, or you’re creating a new instructional session, or anything that you’re making. If you plan for people that are going to have the hardest time accessing it, on either end of the spectrum, then anybody in the middle will be able to use it. It’s actually much more useful for everybody. I think it would be good for employers and supervisors to take a look at the Job Accommodations Network. It’s a government website. They have a section called the A to Z of Disabilities and Accommodations. It’s useful to look at the list using the ‘by limitation’ guide to understand what reasonable accommodations are for various limitations. I think a lot of the time people will build up the accommodation that someone needs into this really huge thing that they can never do. It might give people some clarity to see what is actually encouraged, and what are good accommodations for various limitations.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #5: If we notice someone struggling, what should we do to offer support, Koyomi? 08:17
Kiyomi Deards:
I think the first thing to do is just to ask the person if they would like support. Don’t assume that they need it. Don’t say, I’m going to help you, or things like that, but also know the options for how they can be supported. You might have an idea if there is a particular thing that they seem to be struggling on, but if they just look very stressed and worn out it could be a lot of things. It might not even necessarily be medical, but I think in the way that most people think of it that mental health is still a medical issue—just trying to keep that compassion, first and foremost. Don’t make people justify why they have a need. If they say they need help with something then you should just believe them. Then try and help, and facilitate them getting help with it.
If there is someone else that they need to talk to—say they want a formal accommodation, or they’re working on a project and someone else is not doing their part and you are their supervisor, offer to have the conversation with them. Sometimes just having another person in the room is comforting to people. Not everybody wants it, and you don’t have to be there for it, but you can make the offer. Know what services your university has. There might not be many if you’re at a small college, or a small university, but if you’re at a big place like I am—we have employee assistance. We have an office for Faculty Staff Disabilities Services. It just depends on where you are.
Most importantly, let it go if they don’t want your help. It’s not your job to save anyone, and no one really wants to be saved. They just want to be treated like they’re a human being who’s rights and happiness matter.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #6: Sammy, what is Universal Design, and how does it help? 10:03
Sammy Peter:
According to the Center for Excellence in Universal Design—Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment that can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability. From this idea of Universal Design, Universal Design for Learning, or UDL—as it is commonly known was created.
UDL works to make construction and other educational materials accessible for all. If you’re interested in UDL a great resource is Cast, an online resource where they walk through all of the different principles with examples. These principles work to make education more accessible for all by designing materials to be there from the beginning, rather than retro-actively adapting and making accommodations to spaces that are limiting.
When you consider how these different ideas can be applied to the workplace there are three ideas. Flexibility in how work is performed; flexibility in when work is performed; and flexibility in where work is performed. Some examples of this are how work is performed. There are options for physicality of work, like having employees have the option to sit at the circulation desk, or checking in titles, and organizing them on a cart and somebody else puts them back on the shelves. Libraries, obviously, need coverage for specific hours, and specific places. There is still a lot of flexibility in when work can be performed. Providing that flexibility can be important.
Then for where work is performed. We live in an age of the pandemic where we were all forced into seeing how many people could function in their job from home. The answer was—a lot. So considering how many duties a person can do from home versus in-person, and providing that flexibility can make a big impact for everyone.
Initially behind the flexibility you can incorporate an element of UDL into your everyday practice as a manager. Like when you host a meeting—readying an agenda, but also verbally saying the agenda. When you set up a meeting, provide a detailed description of what will be discussed and also maybe what questions you’re asking—things like that, so people can properly prepare. There are a lot of different ways to go about this, and you can adapt a lot of the UDL principles to be a more inclusive manager.
You can consider ways that you can make small accommodations about the need for a formal accommodation practice. Kiyomi talked about this a little, but the accommodation process can be traumatic and complicated, as also Katie talked about. Instead you can set small accommodations like keyboards, heaters, noise machines, and a lot of things like that in your budget to make your place more accessible and inclusive. Everyone learns and works differently, as well. They may need different set-ups.
Additionally, flexibility is the keyword here. By providing a flexible and supportive environment for everyone you can create a productive environment for all, and the majority of people will be happier whether they have a disability or not. This allows you to create a space for everyone who may learn or think differently to feel heard and seen.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #7: Thank you, Sammy. Katie did you have something to add? 13:07
Sammy Peter:
I’ll just add that it’s important to include disability as part of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. It doesn’t stand alone in accessibility because disability does not exist in a silo. It intersects with other marginalized identities and forms of oppression. For libraries it’s essential to consider disability when you’re making DEI plans, and programming, and providing training to your library employees.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #8: That is helpful. Do you have any recommended resources to improve a manager’s understanding of disability, and why? 13:39
Katie Manwiller:
This is Katie. I recommend the book, Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally, by Emily Ladau. This book is very recent. It’s really accessible and easy to read, and it covers a lot of content that breaks down our cultural stereotypes of disability and the widespread misconceptions about disability, the language around disability, what ableism is, and how to address it in our everyday lives. It’s a really great introduction to the current realities for people with disabilities in America.
Sammy Peter:
This is Sammy. I’m going to recommend Carli Spina’s book, Creating Inclusive Libraries by Applying Universal Design. It’s a great book and focuses more on the physical space, but it also provides a really great introduction into Universal Design, and Universal Design for Learning specific to libraries.
Kiyomi Deards:
This is Kiyomi. I’m going to recommend an interview instead of a book. It’s called Disability in Design, Q and A with Kam Retlawsk. Kam is an industrial designer. Kam designs spaces, but also is disabled. Kam is also an artist, and does a lot of activism around disability. I think it’s good to find out from someone who is disabled, and has trouble accessing spaces, and is also a designer what challenges they face, and what they think that people can do to reduce barriers. https://www.idsa.org/disability-in-design-qa-with-kam-redlawsk/
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #9: Thank you Katie, Sammy, and Kiyomi. In closing, what do libraries mean to you, personally? 15:18
Katie Manwiller:
This is Katie. To me libraries provide the opportunity for equal access to information and spaces for an entire community. That may mean a local public library, or a university. I say opportunity though, because while it is our professional ideal we still have a long way to go to ensure equal access to all patrons, and employees.
Sammy Peter:
This is Sammy. To me it’s the cliche that libraries are a space for everyone, able-bodied, or disabled—everyone has a space and representation within the library. To me that’s really meaningful and impactful.
Kiyomi Deards:
This is Kiyomi. To me libraries at their best represent infinite possibilities for learning and growth and just being human, but that’s only true if they’re accessible.
Adriane Herrick Juarez:
Question #10: Thank you all. You’ve provided valuable information about ways we can support people of all abilities working in our libraries. This is an important topic and I truly appreciate you being here today. 16:13
Katie Manwiller:
Thank you again, for having us.
You’ve been listening to Library Leadership Podcast. This is Adriane Herrick Juarez. For more episodes tune into LibraryLeadershipPodcast.com where you can now subscribe to get episodes delivered right into your email inbox. Our producer is Nathan Sinclair Vineyard. Thanks for listening. We’ll see you next time.
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