It’s about time

The impact of COVID has been felt far and wide in the UK workplace over the past 24 months. There is a plethora of insights regarding these impacts and what it might look like as a return to ‘normal’ ensues. However despite the array of studies available, there is a stark lack of reference to the UK’s disabled working population of 4.4 million people, the impacts the pandemic has had on this group and what it might mean for the future.

We have chosen to focus on the disabled workforce in the UK to shine a spotlight on the experiences of a significant group making up almost a fifth of the UK’s working population.

Addressing the Challenge

To begin to address the imbalance in this discussion, we spoke with a selection of disabled leaders, staff and those working alongside disabled colleagues from a range of sectors, functions and roles in UK organisations. The questions raised invited personal insight and experience, hoping to establish a more qualitative view, rather than conclusive quantitative results. We have woven these thoughts and insights, alongside our own knowledge and views, through the following piece. It is a complex topic and we don’t presume to have clear answers, but we do want to prompt more discussion and ask questions which we really believe are important for organisations and leaders to consider.

We are acutely aware of how broad the definition of disability is according to the Equality Act of 2010, and this was acknowledged in almost every conversation we had. However, while we realise that this presents limitations to what we can cover, and even the extent to which our questions could produce crystalised, conclusive answers, it feels even more important to talk about the experiences both collective and individual, good and bad.

We are continuing the conversation to effect change and understand how these experiences could and will impact future working models for people with disabilities in the UK and ultimately the lessons that can be learned to make a positive difference.

Through this piece, we want to present material that is useful and relevant and our hope is that this generates further discussion, as well as prompting reflection, deliberation and response.

We express our sincere thanks to all contributors for sharing their thoughts, experiences and insights so candidly. Any feedback on the themes explored and the insights raised would be warmly welcomed.

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