(October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. BCGi has invited Julie Sowash, Senior Consultant at Disability Solutions and a person with a disability, to share a two-part article to raise awareness about mental illness. Her first article focuses on understanding mental illness in the United States. Today, her second will focus on improving employment and retention for those with mental health challenges in the workplace.)

Last week, I had the incredible honor of being on a panel with Katie Strong. Katie, a clinical psychologist, ran over 2,500 miles this year starting in Oregon and ending in Washington D.C. Katie supports veterans (and others) with PTSD. She ran to raise awareness about PTSD and the value of service dogs in aiding in symptom management and recovery.

In prepping for my panel, I pulled together our own best practices, common accommodations, and key indicators of success. Three distinct, but overlapping best practice areas emerged. For companies to support and help employees with mental illness and other types of disabilities grow, culture, leaders, and accommodations provide the right combination for success.

Culture
Corporate cultures are unique and no two are exactly alike. Culture sets the mood and the tone for how your leaders lead, how your employees engage, and how policy and process are enacted. Corporate culture creates an environment where your employees can (or cannot) bring their whole person to work, feel valued in their differences, and understand asking for help is not a weakness for the person, the employee, or the company.

We do see corporate cultures changing to focus on the value of inclusion of all types of disabilities. Companies with these cultural best practices are leading the way.

1.) D/I is more than just race and gender. So many leaders are stuck in old-school EO 11246 diversity and inclusion strategies. Don’t get me wrong, we still have A LOT of work to do to create parity in gender and for people of color. Veterans, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ jobseekers and employees support traditional D/I goals. We create a new level of diversity to drive innovation and value in your company. If your D/I strategy isn’t inclusive your culture won’t be either.
2.) Train early, often, and in multiple formats. In order to create an inclusive culture, training for leaders and non-leaders should include education to remove fear and bias, managing performance, and focusing on the talent value of employees with disabilities. Mental health awareness, managing accommodations, and performance management empower people leaders to effectively manage their teams. Mental Health First Aid training is also a valuable training consideration.
3.) Lose the legalese – No one is going to feel safe disclosing their disability if they only hear about it wrapped in a cloak of fear and legalese. I understand the legalese must be available at the appropriate and required intervals, but legal requirements are not culture. In fact, non-discrimination statements may result in more discrimination. Companies can create positive corporate cultures for employees with disabilities through internal communications. Communications emphasizing the talent value of employees with disabilities should not focus on compliance or philanthropy, including executive self-disclosure, employee resource groups, and strongly developed and communicated EAPs.

Strong People Leaders
Great leaders focus on creating the best possible environment and structure for their team to be successful. The basis of this environment is driven by a company’s culture. They understand key differences in managing different personality types, learning styles, and have a clear picture of the value and opportunities each player brings to the team. They also fully understand and embrace the critical value of a workload management, work/life balance, and mitigating stress through proactive management.

Last week, as I talked through my panel discussion with Katie, I recognized how many of the best practices we mentioned related to the direct relationship between leader and team. In hindsight, I can also see how my leaders past and present utilized these leadership skills to support me, as an employee with a disability.

1.) Clear, Concise Communication – In today’s kinder, gentler corporate environment, we do a lot of work to get “buy-in.” During the “buy-in” process, we use A LOT of words, which often leave our employees completely in the dark about what it is we ACTUALLY want them to do. For people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, and a variety of other cognitive disabilities, this communication style is not only problematic, but may very simply be a deal breaker.

By providing employees clear, concise communication through regular planned feedback sessions, written follow up, and defined timelines, you are setting up all of your employees for success. For your employees with disabilities, you are providing the foundation for them to succeed. We can understand what you need, when you need it, and how you would like it delivered.

Feedback sessions should focus on your employees, not just their to-do list. By regularly providing an open line of communication to ensure employees clearly understand their strengths and their opportunities to develop, you can catch and correct performance issues before they become habits. Feedback sessions also give you a key insight into how your employee is managing stress, developing key relationships, and handling (or not) common workplace frustrations.

2.) Learning Styles: Strong leaders recognize employees have different learning styles and adjust accordingly. For people with mental illness and other cognitive disabilities, written instructions as a follow up to conversations (or vice versa) minimize issues with memory and attention. For others, who are visual learners, written and verbal communication are useful after an activity has been demonstrated. If an employee is struggling with your communication style, try showing them what you would like them to do and then have them try it out a few times.

You may also look for cues of stress, strain, or even “checking out” when you are giving instruction to an employee. These can be indicators you may not be teaching them in the most conducive format for them to receive the information.

These cues paired with feedback sessions can help a leader identify when an employee may need a break, to take walk, or simply have a change of scenery so they can reset. This is especially true for someone like me who cannot focus on instruction when I am using all of my energy to stave off a panic attack. A five-minute breather can allow me to practice my symptom management strategies and reset my brain.

3.) Eating the Elephant: One of the most challenging and stressful activities for me as an employee is not knowing where to start. I think many of us can relate to being given a great opportunity or shot at a big impact project and then the moment of sheer terror of having no idea where to start.

For me, I have to start by mapping it out. Until it is on paper and I can see the high level points I need to hit for this project to get done and done well, I am completely paralyzed with indecision. Fortunately, I have had several leaders in my career and personal life, who have shown me how to take that first bite of the elephant.

For people with cognitive disabilities, mental illness, and memory deficiencies, these types of activities, big or small, can be very stressful or impossible without support. Based on your employee’s strengths and development trajectory, there are a variety of ways to “eat the elephant” – this approach works with employees with or without disabilities.

There are multiple ways you can teach or provide employees with support on breaking down process or projects into manageable steps. This can be done with any task no matter the size.

• Help an employee identify how they process. As I mentioned above, for me the first step is always the outline. Once, I was able to understand how I process big projects and break them into high level pieces, I can take almost anything and break it into a million pieces (much to my team’s chagrin from time to time). Others may need to talk it through with a knowledgeable ear, to process the necessary steps/tasks in a project or process.
• Provide an example or break it down for them. For some, the mind can replicate examples of process or steps, but cannot create them on their own. Therefore, by providing employees with a clear set of objectives within a project/process, you provide several smaller tasks/projects that become instantly manageable. For employees with disabilities, this clarity and structure, gives autonomy with clear instruction. Some will thrive under tight deadlines and others will produce great work within a flexible timeline.
• Break it all the way down. For employees, who due to disability or place of development (or a combo of both), cannot break large projects into subprojects or detailed tasks, do it for them and provide with clear expectations and timelines for completion, including utilizing memory aids and calendar reminders.

Best Practice Accommodations:
Best practices in accommodations for supporting mental health are based in flexibility, transparency, and managing environment.

1.) Flexibility creates opportunity for employees to manage symptoms and their severity without losing productivity. Examples of flexible accommodations include breaks that are more frequent, the opportunity to work at home – sometimes, all of the time, or as needed, flexible start and end times, and flexible due dates on less urgent work.
2.) Transparency reduces stress and anxiety about the unknown. They also provide clear structure for managing performance and how to leverage supports. Examples of transparency accommodations are clear understanding of expectations, clear communication (written and verbal) of assignments, policies and processes for meeting goals.
3.) Managing Environment. Some mental illnesses can have environmental triggers that exacerbate or launch symptoms. For me, being overly hot or being in a room I cannot easily get out of creates high levels of anxiety. Examples of environmental accommodations are arranging the workspace to ensure view of entry/exits, noise-canceling headphones, include frequent breaks during meetings, rooms with windows, and keeping doors open, if possible.

Truth be Told
On a personal note, on my earlier post I disclosed my disabilities and my struggles with managing my mental health and how it affected my career. I also want you to know how my career and my leaders affected me – how they saved me. Truth be told, through a period of about two years, being able to work and provide for my family, got me through the darkest periods of my mental illness.

As Americans, we are what we do. We take pride in contributing to an organization, providing for our families, and living our version of the American dream. This is no less true for Americans with disabilities. Having a purpose every day, especially on the darkest days, can provide someone a lifeline, something to hang on to, and help get them out of the darkness and keep fighting.

While they never knew it, my leaders saved my life on more days than one and you can do the same.

About Julie: In her role as Senior Consultant, Julie works with Disability Solutions’ clients to first assess current outreach, hiring, and retention systems, policies, and processes that impact an organization’s ability to successfully engage and retain qualified job seekers with disabilities and then develop recommendations for solutions based on the results. Julie’s portfolio of client projects includes PepsiCo (Pepsi ACT), DB Schenker and P&G (Project WIN), Synchrony Financial (PDN Hire), American Express, Aon, and Aramark. You can engage her at Julie.Sowash@DisabilityTalent.org and follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Disability Solutions: Disability Solutions is the consulting division of nonprofit Ability Beyond. Disability Solutions works with employers to help strengthen their workforce through diversity and inclusion. We partner with top companies to deliver people and business-driven outcomes by developing recruiting and engagement strategies for the disability community – delivering custom solutions in outreach, recruiting, talent management, retention, and compliance. To learn more visit: https://www.disabilitytalent.org