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Disclosure & Requesting Accommodations
Description of the video:
00:00
hi everyone welcome to the 10th annual
00:03
ability summit and thank you for joining
00:05
us over in the career corner today we
00:09
are going to have a conversation with
00:11
Renee Forsythe from Lyme connect on
00:14
disclosure and accommodations my name is
00:18
Lisa Mayberry I'm a program manager at
00:20
Microsoft I work with inclusive hiring
00:24
programs for people with disabilities
00:25
and this is a topic for me that it's
00:29
very close to home as well I'm working
00:30
with candidates every day who need
00:33
accommodations to go through interviews
00:35
but then are also onboarding and
00:37
navigating the benefits process at
00:38
Microsoft as well Renee is going to
00:41
share some tips on whether when and how
00:44
to disclose and these are really great
00:47
tips that will apply across your job
00:49
search at any company not just Microsoft
00:51
so we hope that you get a lot from this
00:53
presentation it's going to be about 20
00:56
minutes and then afterwards we will have
00:58
some time for question and answer as
01:01
well after that I will be moderating so
01:04
with that I'm going to go ahead and turn
01:06
it over to Renee to kick this up thanks
01:11
Lisa
01:12
we are so happy to join Microsoft for
01:14
the ability summit and appreciate the
01:16
partnership between lime connect and
01:17
Microsoft as together we work towards
01:20
our mission of rebranding disability to
01:22
achievement thank you all for joining us
01:25
for this discussion on disclosure and
01:28
accommodations and how to set yourself
01:30
up for success during the recruiting
01:32
process when onboarding into a new role
01:35
or at any time during your employment
01:37
today we will identify ways that you can
01:40
best communicate your needs as a person
01:42
with a disability while also
01:44
highlighting the unique strengths that
01:46
you bring to your team first it's
01:49
important to take a look at the
01:50
disability landscape and recognize that
01:53
as a person with a disability in the
01:55
workplace you are not alone one in four
01:57
North Americans have a disability and in
02:00
the workforce
02:02
research shows that 30 percent of white
02:04
collar workers have a disability this
02:06
number may be surprising to you because
02:08
many people don't talk about their
02:10
disabilities in fact only 3 percent of
02:13
them
02:13
please actually self-identify as having
02:16
a disability so why is there such a
02:18
disparity between these two numbers one
02:21
reason is that the majority of
02:23
disabilities are non visible or not
02:25
evident to others when you first meet
02:27
them so if you're a person whose
02:30
disability is not evident you have to
02:32
make an active choice whether to
02:34
disclose your disability or not even if
02:37
you have a visible disability you will
02:40
have to make choices about when to
02:42
disclose your disability and if you
02:44
choose to request an accommodation how
02:46
to make that request at Lyme connect
02:50
when we coach members about the decision
02:52
process around disclosing your
02:54
disability we encourage people to
02:56
consider whether when and how to
02:58
disclose to set yourself up for success
03:00
just closing your disability may not be
03:03
necessary or appropriate in every
03:05
situation but it is important to note
03:08
that your employer's want to help you to
03:10
be successful and to give you what you
03:12
need to thrive in your role and in their
03:14
companies so when you're deciding
03:18
whether or not to disclose your
03:19
disability you may have some concerns
03:21
about if disclosure is right for you
03:24
some of the concerns that are common
03:27
that we hear from people with
03:28
disabilities include the belief that
03:31
people will judge them once they reveal
03:34
that they have a disability before they
03:36
get to know them or know what they're
03:37
capable of or a fear or uncertainty
03:41
about how people will react when they
03:43
share the information that they are a
03:45
person with a disability they also have
03:49
concerns about disclosing and how it
03:51
will impact their career including the
03:54
likelihood that they may not be selected
03:56
as the applicant of choice or that they
03:58
might not get the key assignment that
04:00
they need to move their career forward
04:05
others just have a concern about not
04:08
knowing how to have the conversation and
04:10
preparing for the conversation is part
04:12
of what we will talk about today because
04:14
our experience has shown that people
04:16
have had great success when disclosing
04:19
and requesting an accommodation some of
04:21
the success stories we hear include
04:24
receiving the technology that they need
04:26
to be successful and work more
04:29
efficiently in their role others have
04:33
received an adjusted work schedule which
04:35
helps them to do their most productive
04:37
work and others have been able to share
04:40
the communication techniques that work
04:42
best for them so that they can
04:43
understand directions more effectively
04:46
and be more efficient in their work for
04:48
others it's opened up a dialogue with
04:50
their managers where they can share
04:52
symptoms or have a key code word to use
04:55
when they're having a bad day and even
04:58
others received flexible schedule or
05:01
extra support when they really needed it
05:04
to allow them to flex their work
05:06
schedule to be able to produce their
05:09
best work and overall just a general
05:12
empathy from their managers when they
05:14
were open and discussed what they needed
05:19
but as I mentioned determining whether
05:21
to disclose will be a decision at
05:23
different touch points with different
05:25
potential or current employers the keys
05:28
to disclosing when and in a way that
05:30
allows you to present your best self the
05:34
decision process starts as early as
05:36
during the application process and
05:38
throughout the recruiting process or
05:42
perhaps it might take place after the
05:44
offer so let's just take a moment to
05:46
look through these different touch
05:47
points
05:50
first during the application process you
05:53
may be asked early on in filling out an
05:56
application whether you identify as a
05:58
person with a disability it's important
06:01
to note that this is considered self ID
06:03
and it's information that's generally
06:05
used for data collection and it's not
06:07
used to grant an accommodation so if you
06:10
need an accommodation during the
06:11
recruiting process you need to be sure
06:13
to identify that further on with a
06:16
recruiter prior to the interview process
06:18
this may take the form of needing extra
06:22
time if you're doing case studies or a
06:23
coding test or perhaps you would prefer
06:26
a Skype interview versus a phone
06:28
interview
06:31
in other examples you may want to share
06:34
it during the interview process to
06:36
highlight a skill or specific
06:38
accomplishment or potentially to address
06:41
an uncomfortable situation that might
06:44
take place during the interview a very
06:48
common time to request an accommodation
06:51
is after the interview
06:55
when you have the job offer in hand
06:57
before you start the job so that you
06:59
have all the tools in place that you
07:01
need to hit the ground running
07:04
realize that you can also request an
07:06
accommodation at any time during
07:08
employment if your needs change it is
07:11
really important not to wait until you
07:13
are struggling in your role or you're
07:14
receiving negative feedback about your
07:16
performance before you ask for the
07:18
accommodation you want to ask for what
07:20
you need so that you can always perform
07:22
at your best when you have identified
07:24
the best time to disclose or times to
07:28
disclose because you will likely need to
07:29
do it more than once in your lifetime we
07:32
now come to how you can do it so that
07:34
you are effectively communicating all
07:36
that you need to help you bring your
07:38
full strengths and skills to every
07:40
professional interaction let's review
07:43
four steps that you can take as you
07:45
approach how to disclose your disability
07:47
and they include establishing the reason
07:50
for the conversation based on your needs
07:52
identifying the best person for the
07:54
conversation simplifying your disability
07:57
and selecting a technique that works for
07:59
you in terms of communication and then
08:02
ultimately requesting the accommodation
08:04
and helping come up with solutions that
08:05
you know work for you so first let's
08:10
talk about the reason for the
08:12
conversation you'll need to identify are
08:14
you going into this requesting an
08:16
accommodation do you have a disability
08:18
related need that you need met are you
08:22
simply seeking to further your
08:25
relationships with your team members
08:27
with your manager to maybe alleviate
08:30
some awkwardness about how to interact
08:32
related to your specific disability
08:35
perhaps you just want to break commonly
08:39
held stereotypes around your disability
08:41
and what people with your disability are
08:43
or not capable of or perhaps you want to
08:47
talk about in terms of identifying your
08:49
unique strengths that you bring to the
08:51
table that may have been developed as a
08:53
result of living with your disability
08:55
the next step is to identify the best
08:58
person for the conversation research
09:01
shows that most people commonly disclose
09:04
to their manager once they are an
09:06
employee but prior
09:08
to that if you're in the recruiting
09:10
process you may need to disclose to a
09:12
recruiter or someone in the HR
09:14
department to get your disability
09:16
related needs met
09:18
then you want to determine what
09:20
technique or approach you're most
09:22
comfortable with and communicating the
09:24
details about your disability so let's
09:26
review some common approaches that we
09:29
recommend that seem to work for our
09:31
network members first is talking about
09:35
simplifying the science around your
09:37
disability so you may have lived with
09:40
your disability for much of your life
09:41
and have a lot of medical information
09:44
and background on your disability that's
09:46
not necessarily relevant or necessary
09:49
for this discussion so you can explain
09:51
the way your unique brain works for
09:54
example or how your spine functions or
09:57
perhaps you want to show them the
09:59
technology that you use as a support
10:01
tool that can be really helpful and
10:03
helping understand what your disability
10:05
is and how it impacts you another tool
10:09
that we have used and that we recommend
10:12
is connecting with people through the
10:14
metaphor identifying a metaphor that
10:16
allows people to connect to and
10:18
understand your disability so here's a
10:21
few examples someone who lives with
10:25
disability used the metaphor of managing
10:29
my disabilities like sailing it may look
10:31
like smooth sailing from the outside but
10:34
I'm constantly adjusting the sails to
10:36
ensure that I stay on course someone who
10:40
lives with low vision described it as my
10:42
sight is like if you put both thumbs in
10:44
front of your eyes and try to see around
10:46
them another individual with hearing
10:49
loss describes it as it's like being at
10:52
a rock concert where you can hear the
10:54
voices but you can't make out the words
10:57
and another individual who's dyslexic
10:59
talks about trying to read a story but
11:03
only seeing every other word so those
11:06
are metaphors that are specific to those
11:08
individuals and that really worked for
11:10
them but you seek to find a metaphor
11:13
that really resonated with you and your
11:15
disability and helps describe it in a
11:17
way that others can relate
11:20
and always remember that while it may be
11:23
important for you to share some of the
11:25
limitations that you experience as a
11:27
result of living with this disability
11:28
it's also important to highlight the
11:31
incredibly valuable strengths that you
11:34
have developed because of a life with
11:35
your disability our network members have
11:40
shared with us some of the strengths
11:41
that they have developed as people with
11:45
disabilities and I think we can all
11:47
agree that the strengths that any
11:51
employer would like to have so listed
11:54
here we have some of the top strengths
11:56
that were identified such as being a
11:58
problem solver for people who've lived
12:00
with disability they've often had to
12:02
problem-solve how to make the world
12:04
accessible for themselves for most of
12:06
their lives in many cases they're a
12:08
strategic thinker because they may have
12:10
had to learn differently some cases they
12:13
are incredibly organized because they
12:15
always have to get their work done ahead
12:18
of time in anticipation that they might
12:20
not be able to to deliver and if there's
12:24
a flare-up of course determination and
12:27
resilience are key strengths of many
12:30
people who live with disabilities and
12:32
then we've seen others who've been able
12:33
to take on leadership roles in really
12:36
identifying ways to help others
12:38
understand the disability space
12:44
I also want to share some of the
12:46
specialized skills that you've developed
12:47
these are also skills that we've heard
12:49
from our network members that they've
12:52
developed as a result of living with
12:54
very specific disabilities so in some
12:57
cases we've had people talk about how
12:59
they are really excellent at seeing
13:03
patterns and developing systems that
13:05
others cannot see and that came as a
13:07
result of living with their disability
13:09
others have an innate curiosity and a
13:12
creativity for approaching life or
13:14
learning due to living and learning with
13:17
their disability in the way that they do
13:19
others have talked about heightened
13:22
communication and listening abilities as
13:24
a result of living with certain
13:26
disabilities and of course technology is
13:29
a key factor in helping people
13:32
accommodate for their disability so that
13:36
knowledge and that experience is
13:37
critical to people and to companies to
13:40
bring that perspective so finally once
13:44
you identify these four steps you really
13:46
really want to practice your disclosure
13:48
conversation the more you practice the
13:51
more you'll feel comfortable going into
13:53
that setting so what's important is that
13:55
you feel comfortable with what you're
13:57
conveying and that it feels like more of
13:58
a natural conversation and remember that
14:03
there are many possible accommodations
14:05
out there and we always when we train
14:07
our corporate partners on the employer
14:11
side we recommend that they speak with
14:13
the employee about what is the best
14:16
accommodation for them and what works
14:18
for them because you really know what
14:20
works best for you so keep in mind in
14:22
requesting accommodation that 59% of
14:26
accommodations cost nothing to provide
14:29
and most accommodations tend to cost
14:31
less than $500 so it's really not
14:34
generally a hardship for employers to
14:37
provide these accommodations
14:40
so just to highlight a few
14:42
accommodations that we have heard of
14:45
that work for individuals within our
14:47
network here's a few to take a look at
14:49
some individuals use a smart pen which
14:52
allows them to take notes and be more
14:55
attentive in offices and not miss any
14:57
information other individuals have used
15:01
darkened rooms as a way to accommodate
15:06
for their own low vision or perhaps to
15:09
deal with chronic migraines we've had
15:12
other individuals who find that
15:14
captioned presentations is really
15:15
critical in helping them be a full
15:18
participant in any meeting and also
15:20
captioning through different interview
15:25
settings can be helpful if you're doing
15:27
virtual interview settings others look
15:32
for flexible schedules or an adjusted
15:35
schedule can be very helpful for example
15:37
if you feel extreme drowsiness perhaps
15:40
due the medication in the morning just
15:42
adjusting your schedule by a few hours
15:44
can help be more productive and that's
15:46
something that your company or your
15:48
managers might be able to provide for
15:50
you another simple accommodation is
15:53
headphones - when we're all back in the
15:56
office to be able to prevent distraction
16:00
and really allow you to focus and then
16:03
here we have another self accommodation
16:08
from our good friend dr. Steven Shore
16:10
who is also an autism expert in an
16:12
autistic individual and he considers his
16:16
hat in accommodation because of the
16:19
often the fluorescent lights really
16:21
bother him so he self accommodates with
16:24
a hat and then of course I will
16:29
encourage you all to take all that you
16:31
learned through this ability summit and
16:33
apply it to your future disclosure
16:35
conversations we know that technology
16:38
can really be a game changer for people
16:40
with disabilities and I encourage you to
16:42
explore all the great tools that
16:44
Microsoft has to offer
16:46
and finally at Lund connect the entire
16:50
team looks to be a great resource for
16:53
people with disability
16:54
so we would encourage you to join our
16:56
network and we look forward to
16:59
continuing to work with Microsoft to
17:01
create an accessible world for all Thank
17:05
You Rene that was excellent
17:09
definitely it went through a lot of
17:11
things for me that our top of mind right
17:14
now especially as you know the way that
17:17
we work and collaborate has been
17:20
completely changed over the last few
17:23
months it's important to think through
17:24
how to have these conversations and be
17:27
mindful of the way that we're working
17:28
now and how to best accommodate either
17:32
our team members or ourselves when we
17:34
think about what we need so we will go
17:37
ahead and transition to Q&A so if
17:40
there's anything that came up for you
17:42
please feel free to submit that to us
17:48
all right so question answer time now
17:53
thanks for joining us
17:54
Renee we also have Alyssa from Lyme
17:58
connect on the line to help with some of
18:00
the questions and I would love for her
18:02
to introduce herself as well so we get
18:05
to know her a little bit better before
18:07
we dive in
18:12
hi everyone my name is ELISA Brower
18:15
Severini and I'm the director of
18:17
engagement with mime connect that works
18:18
very closely with our great corporate
18:20
partners like Microsoft and I also
18:22
manage our scholarship programs our
18:25
fellowship applications and I'm so
18:27
excited to join the conversation today
18:30
thanks Alysa we are really excited to
18:34
dive into some of the questions that
18:36
were submitted some of them were covered
18:40
in the presentation a little bit so
18:42
we'll try not to be too / Pettit --iv
18:44
but it does help to have some concrete
18:46
examples of you know what we're talking
18:49
about when we're asking for
18:52
accommodations either as Canada or an
18:55
intern or an existing employee we have
18:58
some information that we can tell you
19:00
specific to Microsoft but then our line
19:02
connect representatives can also help
19:05
with information that applies more
19:08
broadly to other companies as well so
19:11
the first one I will turn over to Rene
19:14
what types of accommodations can I ask
19:17
for when interviewing and virtually
19:19
which I know is a very timely question
19:21
right now yeah that is really timely so
19:26
thanks for that question
19:28
and I think many many interviews will
19:31
start to be moving to a more virtual
19:34
setting so it's important to think about
19:37
what you might need in that setting
19:39
and and what what self accommodation you
19:44
can provide and what you might need to
19:46
ask for from your potential employer the
19:49
person you're interviewing with so first
19:52
it can be helpful to know what the
19:54
structure of the interview it's like if
19:57
it's a if it's going to be a phone
20:00
interview if it's going to use something
20:03
like Microsoft teams if it's going to be
20:05
a video interview all of those things
20:07
can be helpful to to know about in
20:08
advance also to understand how long the
20:12
interview might be and how many people
20:16
you might be meeting with if there's any
20:18
kind of case study or coding challenge
20:20
involved those are all things that are
20:22
important
20:23
find out about ahead of time and then
20:26
depending on your disability knowing
20:28
those things will will indicate what
20:31
type of accommodation you might need to
20:33
ask for so some things that you can
20:36
think about I think I think one
20:37
important thing now with this virtual
20:39
setting is to see if you can test the
20:41
platform in advance make sure that it
20:44
works with whatever technological
20:47
accommodations you might have in place
20:49
if it's a screen reader for example you
20:52
want to test that it's compatible with
20:53
that if it's perhaps you might want to
20:57
use the captioning function and if the
20:59
platform doesn't offer a captioning
21:01
function you may want to see if there's
21:04
an alternative option if captions or
21:06
something that you use this an
21:08
accommodation you also want to know if
21:11
you might need extra time so that's
21:14
where understanding what the structure
21:17
of the interview to where that comes
21:20
into play because if it is a coding
21:23
challenge for example or a case study
21:26
you might extra time might be something
21:29
that you've used in in your university
21:32
or in your personal life so that might
21:35
be something you'd want to request and
21:36
get established ahead of time so those
21:39
are a few of the things I think one key
21:41
is to make sure you're communicating
21:42
with in in the interview setting it
21:46
would really be with the recruiter that
21:47
you're working with a little bit about
21:49
what your disability is and what you
21:51
anticipate you might need in that
21:54
setting and do it in enough advanced
21:57
notice that they can put those
21:59
accommodations in place so those are
22:01
some very general things maybe Lisa if
22:03
you have some examples of what Microsoft
22:06
might provide in terms of accommodations
22:09
thank you yeah and thank you for sharing
22:13
out those other specific examples I
22:15
think that they are really helpful for
22:16
people to contextualise you know what
22:19
they can ask for and what they should
22:20
feel empowered to ask for I think with
22:23
the virtual interviews we open up so
22:26
much capability to be a lot more
22:29
flexible than we have in the past we're
22:31
not thinking about traveling constraints
22:34
or budget concerns around
22:36
how long were able to meet with someone
22:39
I'm so one that came to mind that is
22:42
definitely an option at Microsoft but
22:44
then is something that you should for
22:46
sure feel empowered to ask for other
22:47
companies as well is to have interview
22:50
spread out over multiple days I know in
22:53
the past historically the Microsoft
22:56
interview and a lot of other big tech
22:57
companies to us felt like a marathon
23:00
like maybe five or six in one day
23:02
back-to-back and whether or not you need
23:04
extra time for an interview or maybe a
23:07
30-minute break in between each
23:09
interview or even you know multiple
23:11
interview spread out over multiple days
23:13
that's something that is reasonable to
23:15
ask for and it's something that may not
23:18
always be built into the schedule and
23:20
may not have been built into the
23:22
schedule previously because of travel
23:24
constraints but it's something that you
23:26
should feel like you can ask for again
23:29
you know this open line of communication
23:32
that you have with your recruiter you
23:34
know yourself well and you know what you
23:36
need to feel successful
23:38
so something something simple such as
23:41
informing the interviewer maybe that you
23:43
would like to use video instead of just
23:45
a phone call if that's helpful for you
23:46
or if you are a lip-reader
23:49
and you need to make sure that the
23:51
person you're interviewing with isn't
23:53
backlit and you can clearly see their
23:54
face that's another thing that you could
23:56
ask for but hopefully you feel empowered
24:00
and you're connected to someone within
24:02
the HR function wherever you're
24:04
interviewing so that you can have that
24:06
open dialogue and let them know what you
24:08
prefer and and what is going to help you
24:11
be the most successful and comfortable
24:13
in your interview environment
24:19
so we have another question what
24:23
examples of accommodations can Microsoft
24:25
share for both candidates interns and
24:28
employees I can go ahead and get into
24:32
that a little bit we've talked a lot
24:34
about candidates and kind of the
24:37
examples of what is common for people to
24:40
ask for in the interview setting and I
24:42
will say that you know everything that
24:43
Rene mentioned people should feel free
24:46
to ask for it Microsoft specifically
24:48
I'll also say that every job description
24:51
on our global career site contains a
24:54
link to an accommodation request form so
24:57
that really is there for you to disclose
24:59
as much or as little as you like and ask
25:03
us for what you need to help make your
25:06
experience more inclusive and more
25:08
accessible so if you're having trouble
25:11
input inputting information in your
25:13
application from your resume for example
25:15
you should tell us or if you're
25:18
interested in using a different coding
25:19
platform like Rene mentioned that is
25:22
more accessible for you for your
25:24
interviews that's where you can let us
25:26
know or if you're you know looking at
25:30
that site and it's just not working for
25:32
you and it's not feeling as accessible
25:34
as you want it to be you can let us know
25:36
there that you're having issues too for
25:41
interns we are in completely new
25:43
territory this year with virtual
25:44
internships and so anytime there's
25:47
really rapid change there's also a lot
25:49
of room for growth so if there are any
25:52
intern logged in right now to this call
25:55
we do want to know if you're having any
25:57
access issues so much of what we've done
26:00
in the past for interns is completely
26:02
different this year and we know that our
26:04
intern program is working really hard to
26:05
make sure that everything is accessible
26:07
and that they're being super proactive
26:09
about the activities they're scheduling
26:11
and the different things that they're
26:13
doing for the intern program but we also
26:16
know that mistakes happen and that
26:19
things fall through so if you're
26:21
experiencing any issues we want to know
26:23
about it as soon as possible and you can
26:26
submit that information into D careers
26:28
at Microsoft comm or go through that
26:31
accessibility form on the
26:32
your sight or you can interface directly
26:35
with your recruiter at Microsoft to let
26:38
them know that you're having issues
26:39
whatever you feel most comfortable with
26:41
and then as far as on the job
26:43
accommodations go our interns at
26:45
Microsoft are eligible for all of the
26:47
same support as our full-time employees
26:49
we have a dedicated benefits team that
26:52
helps field those requests so if you
26:55
need something to help do your job more
26:56
effectively you can reach out to
26:58
benefits at Microsoft comm and they'll
27:01
help field your request either if it
27:04
needs to go directly to your manager
27:06
they'll help you with that kind of a
27:08
conversation or if you need some
27:09
technology if there's something else
27:11
going on they'll they'll help you with
27:13
that as well and then some examples for
27:18
that could be as Rene mentioned maybe
27:20
captioning services for those larger
27:22
meetings if that helps you or you could
27:25
also ask for meeting notes or a record
27:28
of specific action items for from
27:31
one-on-ones that you have or you know
27:35
the use of specific adaptive technology
27:37
if that's what you need and the benefits
27:40
team can help you navigate some of that
27:42
if you need help with that and then for
27:46
our internal employees same information
27:50
really applies there you should feel
27:52
empowered to join those employee
27:55
affinity groups or our employee resource
27:57
groups to learn from your peers and kind
28:02
of gather information from people who
28:04
have already done a lot of the things
28:05
that you probably are trying to do
28:07
that's a really great resource for
28:09
information but then also the benefits
28:11
team will will help with more specific
28:14
requests and then you have another
28:16
question Lisa can I just jump in for a
28:20
minute
28:20
sure absolutely okay I just wanted to
28:23
add a few general things general
28:27
accommodations now in this new virtual
28:29
environment which everybody is
28:31
experiencing that and things that we're
28:33
hearing and people are requesting
28:36
because we are so much time we're
28:40
spending so much of our time now in
28:42
front of a screen and that can be really
28:45
exhausting
28:46
it can lead to hearing fatigue it can
28:48
list lead to you know migraines and and
28:53
eyestrain
28:55
some other things that people are asking
28:58
for I'm requesting or just self
29:00
accommodating is some adjusted schedules
29:04
for some people it might be that they
29:05
need to start a little bit later and
29:07
then work a little bit later
29:09
blocks of time that might be screen free
29:13
that maybe they're available by phone or
29:16
some meetings are just by phone to give
29:19
everyone a little break from the screen
29:21
or to be able to walk away and really
29:25
relax all of those muscles that are
29:28
being strained you already mentioned a
29:30
couple of the other ones recordings of
29:32
meetings is it's really being helpful
29:34
and then I just encourage people
29:36
especially as your interns are starting
29:38
to to really set themselves up and
29:41
establish a good work environment that's
29:45
that works well for themselves so making
29:49
sure they're taking breaks but also
29:50
setting up their workspace so that they
29:52
have a comfortable setting for
29:55
themselves
29:55
and another thing can just be trying to
29:59
establish some boundaries when we work
30:01
in the same place where we live it can
30:03
be hard to to end your work Jay so
30:06
thinking about that is important for
30:09
your mental health as well so just like
30:11
to add those few things Thank You Renee
30:14
those are really important
30:16
considerations and I'm glad that you
30:18
brought them up and I think that they
30:19
apply for so many different types of
30:22
people and so many different disability
30:25
segments to be mindful of and especially
30:27
right now with all the stress that we're
30:30
all under I'm wondering as well if
30:31
Alissa has anything or any additional
30:34
perspective to add on this question sure
30:39
yeah I just wanted to echo renamed last
30:42
point because I had requested this just
30:45
recently for ergonomic ly having a
30:48
supportive workspace you may as you may
30:52
be adjusting to your new workspace and
30:55
not really understanding what your work
30:57
schedule is quite yet you start working
30:59
on our
30:59
you may not understand the type of
31:01
strain you may have on your on your neck
31:03
on any parts of your body depending on
31:07
the workspace that you've created so
31:09
just understanding the different organ
31:12
AMA changes that you can make whether
31:14
that's elevating your pc or laptop
31:17
having a remote keyboard and mouse can
31:22
make a world of difference and also as
31:24
someone who has a mental health
31:25
condition sunlight is incredibly
31:28
important to me so even if it's just
31:30
being able to sit near a window taking a
31:33
walk outside you may not be things that
31:35
you'll need for an interview but kind of
31:37
thinking ahead when you're in the
31:38
workplace and starting a regular routine
31:41
those are personally things that have
31:43
helped me thanks for sharing that ELISA
31:48
I am 100% there with you and also with
31:53
Renee and thinking that it is really
31:55
nice also to just turn that video off
31:57
and get outside sometimes for meetings
32:00
and walk around and relieve some of that
32:02
stress and get some exposure and some
32:06
some sunlight we have another question
32:09
here how do I identify the best person
32:13
to whom I should disclose or ask for an
32:16
accommodation and from a Microsoft
32:18
perspective you know the answer to this
32:23
question can vary when it comes to
32:26
needing a specific accommodation I've
32:28
already a little bit touched on the
32:31
benefits team being the best resource to
32:32
help deliver on that but if you're
32:36
finding that it's something
32:38
interpersonal that would help for one of
32:41
your teammates or one of your colleague
32:45
colleagues or your direct manager to
32:48
know about you in order to understand
32:50
the way that you work
32:51
it's absolutely also appropriate to
32:53
disclose directly to them if it's not
32:56
something like a scheduling concern or
32:59
it's not something like meeting an
33:02
interpreter which which would be like a
33:03
benefits team type of a question those
33:08
are probably the best places to start
33:10
but if you're not comfortable disclosing
33:12
and you just
33:13
want to learn more about the community
33:16
and more about the other people who have
33:19
whatever disability you may have as well
33:21
and how they function in the work
33:23
environment I always point people back
33:25
to our employee resource groups to start
33:28
there so that you can find some
33:31
camaraderie and some common ground with
33:33
other people and understand maybe a
33:35
little bit about what their experiences
33:37
were like when they disclosed what kind
33:39
of positive or negative experiences they
33:42
had and kind of best practice sharing
33:45
within the group within the specific
33:47
company culture that you're a part of it
33:50
can be helpful to start there and that
33:51
can also help alleviate some anxiety or
33:54
stress around the decision but we'd love
33:57
to hear more from our lime connect
33:59
partners - on this one
34:03
sure I'll I'll speak first and then
34:06
ELISA if you have any other thoughts you
34:08
can add them in I think I would echo
34:11
exactly what Lisa said for other
34:14
companies as well and I think it really
34:17
you may have a benefits person that
34:20
handles accommodations and I think if
34:23
you're in the workplace and you are
34:25
working within a team and you have a
34:27
manager it can be really important to
34:29
open those lines of communication with
34:31
your manager in some cases you saw some
34:34
of the accommodations we talked about
34:36
both in in the video in during the
34:39
presentation and through the QA and a
34:41
lot of those things managers can can
34:45
decide on their own so those are things
34:48
that you might want to really open up
34:50
that dialogue with your manager and it
34:52
can help them understand how you can be
34:56
more productive in your role which is
34:58
something a manager really wants to be
35:01
able to help you do that's important to
35:04
your effectiveness on the team so trying
35:08
to live in the manager if you feel
35:10
comfortable with that
35:10
and opening those lines of communication
35:12
can be really really valuable and then
35:16
the manager may not know necessarily
35:20
right now right off the bat what they
35:22
need to do or what types of
35:24
accommodations are available so they may
35:26
need to go
35:27
Loup other people in to find out what is
35:29
available but if you're still exploring
35:32
it you have some concerns as Lisa said I
35:35
think a orgies are a great way to to
35:38
kind of test it out get a sense of what
35:41
other people have have requested what
35:44
they've been granted how that
35:46
conversation went just to really have
35:48
sort of a sounding board for for your
35:51
own disclosure conversation can be
35:54
really important and then of course if
35:56
you're in the interviewing stage you'll
35:57
want to find the recruiter that you're
35:59
working with most directly with you try
36:02
and work through what accommodations you
36:03
would need ELISA did I miss anything is
36:06
there anything you want to add yeah
36:10
I would just add if even you're
36:13
uncomfortable reaching out to someone
36:15
within the company that you may be
36:16
working for consider joining the lime
36:19
Network and we have a large community
36:21
over 17,000 members of from the United
36:25
States and Canada who can also be a peer
36:28
resource for you for individuals who may
36:30
have had similar interviews maybe in
36:33
some levels that you are interviewing
36:34
for or just different experiences and
36:37
you want kind of that outside
36:38
perspective that is also available to
36:41
you although like Rene and Lisa said
36:43
yardies are a perfect resource because
36:46
they are again peers of yours as well
36:49
but they also have to know how of that
36:52
specific company's benefits
36:53
procedures and what things have worked
36:55
for them and I would also just say I
36:58
know
36:58
Rene had mentioned this in the
37:00
presentation is just consider when is
37:03
the most comfortable time for you to do
37:05
so and when it's going to make you
37:06
successful because if an accommodation
37:09
can help you thrive in your role it's
37:13
really important to have that to have
37:15
that tool to help you be your best self
37:17
so just think along in the process while
37:21
you're making that decision of whether
37:22
you are going to disclose but that can
37:25
be something that's incredibly helpful
37:27
for your success in your position
37:31
Thank You Alyssa we are coming up on
37:35
time for our session today and I just
37:37
wanted to say thank you so much both to
37:40
Renee and Alyssa from 1connect for
37:43
joining us and really leading this
37:45
discussion on disclosure and
37:47
accommodations it's really relevant
37:50
especially right now when we're all kind
37:53
of figuring out a new way of work to be
37:55
really transparent with ourselves and
37:59
what our limits are and what we need in
38:01
order to feel supported either in the
38:03
interview stage or through an internship
38:06
or through employment I can't emphasize
38:08
that enough we as employers want our
38:12
employees and our colleagues and our
38:16
managers to feel like they have
38:18
everything that they need to do the jobs
38:20
that they've been hired to do and so
38:24
many of these things like Renee
38:26
mentioned are simple and are easy to
38:28
deliver on and make everyone work and
38:32
collaborate better so I'm so glad that
38:35
we have the opportunity to have the
38:36
discussion today and hope that you
38:39
enjoyed it and once the recording is
38:41
available you'll share it so that we can
38:45
all work towards making our work
38:48
environments more inclusive and more
38:50
accessible for people with disabilities
38:52
so I just want to say thank you and
38:55
goodbye thank you