Throughout this summer, both the Olympics and Paralympics have regularly featured on my living room TV. I’ve enjoyed watching the impressive feats of athletes from around the world, and particularly becoming a quick fan of sports I’d never watched before, like skateboarding and synchronised diving.
While the Olympics is always considered the main event, I’ve personally found the Paralympics much more interesting. The sheer range of disabilities on display in an international large-scale event is fantastic, and the efforts they go to for accessibility and inclusivity is commendable. Naturally, this led me to consider our own inclusivity efforts at Jamescape, and how the Paralympics can demonstrate how worthwhile reasonable adjustments in the workplace can be for disabled people.
‘Reasonable adjustments’ are changes that an employer makes to remove/reduce a barrier that disabled people might face. For the Paralympics, adjustments include a bell inside the ball for visually impaired footballers, or having the athletes compete in wheelchairs for rugby or fencing etc. These simple changes allow so many more athletes to compete on a fair playing field, showcasing their skills on an international stage.
Something that impressed me was the large number of events that were, at first glance, indistinguishable from their Olympic counter-part, proving that disabled people are just as capable as non-disabled people given a more equitable environment. The Paralympics is proof that a few easy changes can make a significant impact to accessibility for a large variety of people, and this is a message that can be taken into every workplace.
Reasonable adjustments in the workplace might include a height-adjustable desk, flexible working hours, or a work buddy. It’s also important to remember that since disabilities vary so much, including invisible disabilities, everyone will want or require a different level of adjustment - there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach. Interestingly, it’s worth noting that some disabled athletes compete in the Olympics, depending on their level of impairment. For example gymnast Simone Biles, 7 time gold medal winner for the USA, has ADHD.
One emotional story from this year’s Paralympic games involves Kadeena Cox, five time gold medal winner for Team GB, who suffered a fall in a cycling final due to her MS flaring up. Cox was a gold-medal favourite heading into the event, but failed at the first turn through no fault of her own. From this, we can see that highly talented people can have bad days due to their disability, which aren’t a reflection on them.
Now apply this to an interview or an important client meeting, which are already high stress situations, and it’s easy to see how disabled staff might face additional struggles in the workplace. This is why workplace reasonable adjustments are so important. It’s even better when business operations are designed from the ground up to be as inclusive and equitable as possible, such as our interview practice. If your organisation could benefit from some inclusivity support, please feel to get in touch for a chat.
You can catch the 2024 Paralympics highlights on demand on Channel 4 and you can search for accessible sports in your local area on Every Body Moves.