Many people with disabilities have been bullied or harassed and unfortunately this sometimes occurs in a workplace.
Managers should make it clear that bullying is unacceptable.
An open, friendly personnel office and team is the way forward, so that people feel comfortable about coming in and talking about their feelings.
It is very important to create a situation where, if someone was being bullied, they felt able to talk to a manager about it.
Team building and nurturing good working relationships is an important part of any manager’s job. Here are a few things a manager can do to help a person with a disability to settle into the team:
Checklist:
- Consider training for managers, supervisors and employees who have not worked with people with a disability before
- Identify how you can support those who line manage people with disabilities and provide them with any necessary information they may need
- Recognise that, when instructing a person with learning disabilities, you may have to say something more than once
- Ensure that work colleagues are aware of the reasonable accommodations required to enable a person with learning disabilities to do their job – for example, that they are aware of the need to use communication accessible to the employee.
- Involve the job coach, if there is one, to assist with team building and nurturing good working relationships.
- Ensure that work colleagues are aware that limited interaction or a reluctance to take part in out-of-work social activities is not misinterpreted as being unfriendly. People with learning disabilities may have limited experience of social interaction and/or may be worried about things like how would they get home from the pub. These barriers can be addressed if people are aware of them.
- If someone’s behaviour is inappropriate, recognise that you may have to speak to them more than once before they change it. Don’t assume they are deliberately behaving inappropriately. If possible, consult with the job coach.
One way to manage these situations is to make contact with the job coach or locate a job coach for advice. You can find a job coach through the Irish Association for Supported Employment.
A job coach and employee with the disability will most likely have a support plan. They may know the person well-enough to support them back to positive performance. If the employee with the disability is displaying some challenging behaviours the job coach will support them or direct them for the appropriate support at no cost.
Job coaches will always look to minimise work disruption during this time.