The idea of flexible employment is nothing new.  Current workplace trends are  promoting more flexibility for employees and tailoring the jobs to individuals.  The image of the workplace as somewhere to go to work is fading and being replced with employees working where they can be most efficient and productive. That can be on a plane, on the road, at home, or a telework center.

This trend is opening up new opportunities for persons with disabilities.  This population will have more flexible work choices regarding flexibility.  Employees will have more choices available that help them maintain their health and work productively.

For persons who deal with chronic and changing disabilities, job retention can pose challenges, especially when fatigue or stamina issues come into play.  It is important to have a strong employer-oriented marketing approach that focuses on how hiring persons with disabilities and providing flexible work options can also work to the employer's advantage.  Many businesses want to keep employees with chronic disabilities on the job and have the following incentives to do so:

• Retain valued employees
• Reduce employee turnover and recruitment costs
• Control the rising cost of disability benefits
• Comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Chronic disabilities are long term and of a changing nature.  Examples include: multiple sclerosis, lupus, HIV/AIDS, complications of cancer, arthritis, stroke, heart or respiratory disease, chronic back injury, chronic pain, progressive visual or hearing loss, and mental health conditions.

Telecommuting for ADA Compliance

Telecommuting can assist employers in meeting the requirements of the ADA.  While its benefits are not limited to people with disabilities, telecommuting provides companies with the opportunity to successfully integrate workers with disabilities for whom the traditional workplace presents obstacles.  For examples, one individual was sensitive to sound.  The background noises of a normal office were intolerable to him even if he stuffed his ears with cotton and wore earmuffs.  However, he now works very  successfully out of his home as a dispatcher.

Many persons believe they can't work outside the home because they haven't had success in a traditional positions.  "That  attitude doesn't change overnight.  But if candidates are given the flexibility to work both at home and in the office, the fear of failure diminishes and they  gain self-confidence in their ability to work."

Telecommuting is also a good option for employees with chronic fatigue or limited stamina.  For instance, an employee of the Minnesota Mutual Fire and Casualty Insurance Company does payroll transcription at home a few hours at a time and goes into the office to do filing on the days when her energy level is higher.

Telecommuting can also be useful to companies with employees on extended medical leave who are able to perform all or part of their job at home long before they are physically capable of returning to the workplace. With telecommuting, these employees can be productive months before they otherwise could. Not only does this benefit productivity, but it also cuts down on long-term disability costs.

Caveats on Using Telecommuting for Employees with Disabilities

Companies must guard against using telecommuting to avoid face-to-face contact with people with disabilities. When it is possible for employees with disabilities to work in the office some or all of the time, that option should be pursued. Forcing isolation through telecommuting could be counterproductive for integrating people with disabilities into the company. It might even be considered a violation of the ADA if other reasonable accommodations could be made.

Care should also be taken to ensure that telecommuting is not the only employment option made available to these employees.  Part-time telecommuting or flexwork options can be considered too. In addition, supervisors must be sure that telecommuters with disabilities are not denied opportunities for promotion. (In some cases, such promotions may, of course, require the employee to give up telecommuting.)

Even is an individual is in a job that lends itself to telecommuting, some may not have the qualities and attitudes required for offsite work.  A desire to work at home does not qualify an employee for telecommuting.  Successful telecommuters are self-starters who have proven their ability to do their job well with minimal supervision. They know how to organize their work and manage their time. They have learned how their organization works and have solid relationships with their manager.

If these precautions are taken, telecommuting can be a valuable tool for opening up the workplace to people with a wide range of disabilities and chronic medical conditions and for complying with ADA requirements.

Examples include:

Northland Insurance Company. This firm employs two telecommuters who work twenty hours a week at home transcribing accident reports from audiotapes and sending them to the corporate site via modem. One of these individuals has been unable to work in a regular position for more than ten years due to multiple sclerosis.  The other person has chronic back pain that requires her to change position every fifteen to twenty minutes. Working at home allows both employees to spread a half day's work over an entire day, allowing for needed breaks.

RESOURCE, Inc. This large, nonprofit organization has a homebased secretary who splits her time between two programs. She copes with disability-related fatigue and pain, and telecommuting enables her to better manage and maintain her health.  If this employee worked in-house, daily commute time would be almost two hours. She is responsible for database management, mailings, and handling customer calls and orders. She attends regular staff meetings and maintains daily contact.

Nonprofit agencies such as the Minneapolis United Way have implemented a pilot in which referral specialists receive calls and provide information and assistance.  This is an excellent strategy to give 24-hour service to callers in need. The Minneapolis United Way

SERVICE 800. This company has over 100 customer service representatives who work from their home. Telecommuters conduct customer satisfaction calls for contracts the company has with large technology service vendors.  Many of their employees deal with a chronic or changing disabilities.

Staying On the Job is a program of the Minneapolis Rehabilitation Center (MRC), a division of RESOURCE, Inc., a 39-year old private, nonprofit human service agency. MRC is a vocational rehabilitation agency that provides services to enable persons with disabilities either retain their job or become re-employed.  Staying On the Job (SOJ) is an employment retention program for employees with chronic and progressive disabilities and their supervisors. SOJ was developed from a federal demonstration grant to determine strategies that would keep persons employed. Of 100 employees referred from local employers, 70 succeeded in retaining emplyment during the three year period with flexible work solutions. SOJ developed a Manager Resource Manual and a ½ day seminar that has been offered to over 2,500 employers.  SOJ assists employees and employers in determining appropriate work accommodations, by facilitating communication between the physician, patient and supervisor.  SOJ also monitors effectiveness and recommends changes as the patient's condition dictates and employees appreciate the confidentiality and support supplied by a neutral resource.  SOJ is currently the only known program of its kind in the USA.

Staying On the Job Resource Manual - "Managing Employees with Chronic and Changing Disabilities"

Price $34.97 plus 7% MN Tax and shipping & handling

The Staying On the Job Resource Manual examines issues and provides solutions for the challenges supervisors face as they hire and retain employees with chronic and changing disabilities.  This manual provides examples of accommodations such as telecommuting, and flex-hours that help the employee work while coping with fatigue, loss of concentration, chronic pain, temperature sensitivity, or mobility impairments.

MITE Contacts

If you would like more information about SOJ,  or you would like a SOJ Training Manual, please call Ann Gilbert at (612) 752-8118, or email her at amacheledt@resource-mn.org

If you would like more information about telecommuting and people with disabilities, call Jane Anderson at (612) 752-8010, or email her at janderson@resource-mn.org

This site and its contents are copyright © 2003 by Midwest Institute for Telecommuting Education, Inc. All rights reserved. MITE - Midwest Institute for Telecommuting Education
1900 Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404-1995
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