How Reasonable are Reasonable Accommodations at Work
Yes, 100% agree with these important points - the problems with reactive enforcement, power imbalances, "neurodiversity lite" etc. Thank you for being a powerful voice in favour of change!!
Another brilliant article Hari. I am sharing it widely too. The students in our autism certificate programs always love your pieces and refer back to them frequently in their reflections.
Another brilliant article Hari. I am sharing it widely too. The students in our autism certificate programs always love your pieces and refer back to them frequently in their reflections.
Great article! I'll be sharing this widely. Thanks for letting us all know, and especially for writing it in the first place.
There are unfortunately similar issues re accommodations in higher ed, e.g., a current policy at xxxx where there is no course substitution option for math for people with dyscalculia when math is required for a major (substitutions are available for other majors), even for majors like psychology where there are whole branches that don't focus on math. Thanks for writing and sharing it!
This is an incredible article -- I especially appreciate the example of how needs like remote work and support personnel are often I accommodated. I've found that sometimes these barriers of what is considered a "reasonable" accommodation extend to communication styles as well-- namely, individuals with very blunt communication styles or those who are very direct with feedback are often labelled as difficult to socially accommodate (for lack of a better term) in the workplace and may experience additional barriers. Will also be sharing this article -- thanks for writing it, Hari!
This is super timely to my experience in employment. I have been very fortunate to receive support from my supervisor (including additional daily check ins) and being able to utilize sensory supports. My biggest challenge is figuring out how to deal with feeling emotionally dysregulated and sensory overwhelmed in an in person environment, but this article points to many of the challenges I am facing.
Such a great article Hari! I will share this with my organizational clients right away. Thank you for writing this piece and for shining a light on the fact that the burden is on us to fight for our rights in the workplace and educational settings.
It was an interesting read. It made me think about how the subjectivity of the term 'reasonable' can impact how HR vs. a supervisor might respond to an accommodation request, which then impacts whether the disabled employee chooses whether to request accommodations formally or informally. I've heard that HR departments at large companies tend to be more hesitant to approve accommodations because then they can face legal repercussions if they don't deliver them adequately. So it can be harder to fight for the accommodations to be deemed 'reasonable' through HR. On the other hand, supervisors can be more flexible if accommodations are requested informally, which can help the employee (if the supervisor is understanding about disability) because the request/approval process is much quicker. However, there's a catch because then the employee doesn't have the same level of legal protections compared to if they were to go through HR. This subjectivity impacting who to go to about requesting accommodations further hurts autistic people because it can be harder to get a sense/predict/'read' the room about how a supervisor vs. HR might respond to a request.
Wow, amazing work! Great writing, great info, and great argument!
I agree completely Hari Srinivasan with your insightful analysis of the current state of affairs. Having to ask for an accommodation places an unreasonable level of burden and stress on the employee in a playing field stacked against the employee. Adopting a mindset of commitment to universal and dynamic design of workplace policies, processes, and practices will help us move the needle. Employers with such a growth mindset are very rare - which means we have so much work ahead to raise the awareness and nucleate impactful changes.
Hari Srinivasan, this is a really clear breakdown of the challenges and some remedies. Conversation on these topics is what should be happening throughout NDEAM. Neurodiversity-lite (and disability-lite) are not inclusion—neither in accommodations nor in hiring and staff development. Similarly, the segregated (Autism @ Work) programs that companies often have as their only “neuroinclusion option” are also not truly inclusive.
Hari Srinivasan first, thank you for this article, it is much needed. Who calls "time out" to advocate for the employee if the manager or employer just doesn't want to accommodate the individual? Why does the employer who has an army of support and resources behind them get to determine if an accommodation is unreasonable? While the employee is alone to advocate for themselves- IMO that is the UNREASONABLE part. Great article!
This is exactly why we need more neurodivergents promoted up into leadership postions. Having strong voices creates accessibility for everyone . *But sometimes neurodivergent leaders subscribe to standardized or Neurotypical way of working which can be harmful to their community. This happens as consequence of psychologically unsafe environments leading neurodivergents leaders to hold on to power or because they need to mask. If a company culture is inclusive & safe, I want to see representation specifically in middle management model their diverse personal accomodations. It gives permission to others to do the same. Companies saying - you can use accomodations or ask for your needs no longer serves a purpose with all this invisible red tape. Companies need to start measuring as metric the number of employees promoted up with diverse needs/accomodations to be inclusive company or organization. Ever wonder why there are so many neurodivergent entrepreneurs?
I really enjoyed this article! Thank you Hari Srinivasan for the write up. I agree that the vagueness of the ADA does end up posing a hardship burden on disabled employees. I had many employees come to me with concerns over the language of the ADA, and I've spoken to management that unfortunately were only looking to go by the bare bone requirements of the law. I am also pleased that dynamic accommodation frameworks and universal design were mentioned. We should be working with employees to provide the best equitable services for them versus just going down a standard checklist. Although this article pertains mostly to Autism, it could be adapted for many different types of disabilities since everyone has their own set of needs. Employers, HR professionals, and managers, please consider reading! It's about a 5 - 7min read.
Many of the details in here match my lived experience with seeking accommodations. The subjectivity around what’s considered reasonable… leaves a surprising amount of room for divergent interpretations. The mention of power dynamics (convenience for the employer versus fairness). The burden on the employee to seek reviews of the situation. I’m learning a lot. (And seeking change through self advocacy and sharing/learning from/with others).
Although this reflects on the situation in the US, including reference to the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), even with the UK's Equality Act 2010, situations like this are all too familiar :-(
I had one employer tell me my requested accommodations were unreasonable after less than 6 months of "trying" to accommodate, which mostly consisted of a TON of shaming and very little accommodating. Here's what I asked for to help keep myself regulated and productive:
-clear, written task deadlines and, when the workload became heavier and I ran into conflicting deadlines, help reprioritizing tasks
-written instructions
-ability to work from home because all attempts at working in-office were not working well due to noise, smells, and general sensory overload (most of my team was remote, yet I was shamed the most for this one)
Reasonable should prioritize the employee's ability to perform their job, which requires discussion with the individual, not just saying, 'oh, we have an elevator and ramps so we're good'. Like the article points out, even within autism there's a wide range of what a person might need. We are not a box to check, we aren't our co-workers' emotional support animal or project or friend, and that "water-cooler culture" so many companies are promoting is insultingly ableist. So many accommodations are completely free to employers, and many others, I would argue, should be considered best practice regardless of disability status.
To the companies and managers doing it right: I cannot applaud you enough. Thank you.
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