Employing a visually impaired person makes good business sense
I am lucky. There are no two ways about it. I have the good fortune of having everything any human person needs to be happy and fulfilled. I have a loving family, have had the benefit of a great education and, this is where the luck bit comes in, I have been afforded opportunities.
I recently met some other visually impaired people, who, as far as I am concerned have every reason to feel just like me. They are smart, well educated and seem pretty well adjusted emotionally to me, but the kicker is that they are all unemployed.
And they all had the same story. Employers did not want to take what they perceived as being the risk of employing a blind person. These prospective employers all felt that, in addition to this perceived risk, which we all know is actually completely non-existent and a fallacy created by the ignorant, that it would cost them more to employ visually impaired people.
I would really like to know how on earth these employers have made this determination. In fact, it is actually the opposite. Not only will the lovely people at Access to Work make sure that the employee is kitted out with whatever assistive technology and support they need at no extra cost to the employer, but it is also proven that us visually impaired types don’t muck about.
We want to participate and to contribute and we don’t take these things for granted, so we don’t go out on the razz and call in sick when we get our pay cheque and we don’t change jobs when we have a few little niggles. We tend to be more loyal and more diligent than our sighted counterparts and so employers can really benefit, because employing one of us will most likely serve to actually reduce costs for things like absenteeism, recruitment and training.
So, any potential employers out there who are thinking that hiring a visually impaired person is going to be too difficult, think again. You have access to a pool of talented, smart, willing and able prospective employees, so what are you waiting for?
About Sandi
Businesswoman Sandi Wassmer registered blind in 2008. In her blog, she shares with us the 'shenanigans of visual impairment'.
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Comments
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REALLY interesting Sandi. This would be a very valuable and newsworthy piece of research if the evidence supported what you are saying. Why don't we get together and see if we can find a way to sponsor some research based on the thoughts you outline?
Posted by Tony, 9 March 2010 (2 years ago)
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I lost my sight 5 years ago. as i was in the forces this also meant complete career change. after a visit to a career officer at the local job center who said we do brilliant course in basket weaving for Vi folks (seriously!)I felt I would no longer find a place in the Job Market. Once I had mastered the new software for speech etc on my computer i set about gaining a masters degree in criminal law which I passed last year with top marks. One of the things with the degree is it attracts interest from employers. A lot showed interest in me until they found out i was blind & shown no more interest. but one dept. director in the public sector offered me a 6 month placement to adjust to working again. although on basic pay i grabbed it. he admitted he had a lot of reservations but over time he found i was twice as hard working, I never threw sickies and as I don't drink never arrived worse for wear as some of my other colleagues did in the mornings. Also he realized i didn't need that many adaptations or extra help that he thought would be needed. since working there i have proved myself and I am now head of an adjacent dept. Over time I have changed the perception of blind people in the offices here dealing in law. yes your always going to get the odd idiot who will say 'how can you do that if your blind?' or think they are being funny by hiding your chair etc but in turn they are then made to look foolish for their actions. Prejudice will always exist unfortunately but everyone has the ability to educate and turn the negative into a positive.
Posted by _cariad_, 9 March 2010 (2 years ago)
