Being “Ready to Work” Depends on Multiple Factors

I follow @UnitedSpinal on Twitter and have found that they are generally a decent resource for information on spinal cord injuries. Still, this recent tweet ticked me off:

A person with a disability may be well qualified and in need of income, but still not ready in attitude to work. http://bit.ly/bPXQIA

It links to an article entitled “Is She Really Ready to Work?” by Tamar Asedo Sherman, who is presumably some sort of vocational rehabilitation counselor or job placement specialist. Sherman describes her interaction with “Patty”, a client with a “disability is of a physical nature, with swelling of her legs making it hard for her to move around and making her a potential candidate for knee replacement surgery”.

Sherman goes on to explain that she has practically bent over backwards trying to get Patty a job by helping her with resumes, job applications and contractions, but Patty always seems to have an excuse for not helping herself: her computer is broken, her legs are swollen, etc. Sherman concludes the article by congratulating herself for setting Patty up with a one-day gig as a phlebotomist even though Patty had to cancel at the last minute. In fact, Sherman blames Patty for not being “ready to work”:

Maybe Patty’s disability was such that she really was not able to return to work at that time, I thought, even though she wanted to. Many people are in denial as to the extent of their disability. Was Patty one of them? … If you were in my place, would you think Patty was ready for work?

This article infuriated me for so many reasons. The first is the condescending attitude that Sherman took towards Patty. She judged Patty based on an able-bodied standard and failed to think about what else might be going on in Patty’s life and/or health that might be impeding her ability to work. Does she have invisible disabilities or physical issues that could impact her health on a given day and are too embarrassing to tell a snobby voc rehab counselor about? Since this is a website about spinal cord issues, I can think of a few medical things I’ve got that I sure as heck wouldn’t talk to a voc rehab person about.

Second, the one-day job Sherman sent Patty to was for a phlebotomist at a health fair. Let’s think about that: Generally, people who work at any kind of fair have to stand up all or most of the day and every single phlebotomist I’ve seen has done his or her work standing up. Also, I have problems with my legs swelling since my spinal cord injury and I can imagine how painful they would be after standing around at a health fair for an entire day. I am sure this is something that Patty thought about when she backed out on the job and Sherman did not.

Third, Sherman wrote this article from her perspective: how hard she worked to get Patty a job, how little Patty contributed to her job search and how ungrateful Patty was to her (Sherman).

How could this have been handled better? I would have loved for Sherman to have made Patty’s job hunt more Patty-centric. Rather than simply chalking Patty’s unemployment up to depression or lack of initiative, Sherman should have taken the time to ask more questions: Are there any other physical issues going on? Does Patty have any environmental or lifestyle barriers to employment? (child care or other caregiving, appropriate clothing, transportation, etc.) And yes, someone, probably not Sherman, should ask Patty if there are any psychological barriers to employment. This is the last step, not the first, though.

There are so many barriers to employment for people with disabilities and/or chronic illness that it is insulting and discriminatory to simply chalk it up to depression and laziness. There were so many ways for Sherman to help her client, Patty. Unfortunately, she failed miserably.

If you have time, please read the article. Then come back here and let me know what you think in the comments section below. Thanks!

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