Lupus in the world of diversity, disability & inclusion

[#1]

On May 10th it was World Lupus Day, from May 10-16th it is Mental Health Awareness Week and there have been many more awareness days, weeks and months before this and many to follow after. But what does that mean?

... What does that mean for you... for your job... for your company?

Whether it's yourself, your family, your colleagues or even your boss, disability appears in many shapes and sizes and it effects everyone in different ways. It can be visible but most of the time it's likely to be invisible to the naked eye whether that's because it's a chronic illness or you may prefer to maintain a facade in case you are treated differently (of course there are so many other reasons these are just a couple of examples).

And this is why diversity, inclusion and the acceptance of disabilities in the workplace are so important. It's a burden to bare for many but it shouldn't be alone we should be able to be in an environment where your colleagues are supportive and so is your organisation - but how many feel this is the case?

I'm one of the lucky ones, where I was open from the start to my organisation and they adapted - making sure I have the right equipment and furniture, the right accessibility and the right policies in place that if I needed to work from home if it was a bad day for example I could. And this was all without question, they were happy to be inclusive. 

It may have taken a little longer to open up to my colleagues one being because you look perfect normally on the outside but not necessarily on the inside. And two because you don't want it to impact their opinion on if you can do your job. But if you have the right company culture and environment this won't be the case and it's important for organisations to understand this. 

My question to you is how well is your organisations doing in the area of diversity, disability and inclusion especially now we are remote? (let alone in the midst of a pandemic!)

P.S. on a purely intrigued level is there also anyone here who tackles Lupus while working in tech?

[Taranjeet Singh]

Great article, great thoughts!

Every company should welcome diversity, inclusion and acceptance of disabilities at the workplace, to make employees feel working at home. 

[Laura Holton _ACE Rotterdam_]

Thanks @Taranjeet Singh 😃

[Pedro Silva]

Thanks for sharing @Laura Holton _ACE Rotterdam_ 

[Laura Holton _ACE Rotterdam_]

Thanks @Pedro Silva 😃