My name is Pippa, I’m
from Yorkshire, and I have a chronic illness. I'm a blogger at Life Of Pippa, and last
year I joined Scope’s community team. I now contribute towards the day-to-day
running of the online community, alongside working with the Stories and Digital
Marketing teams.
There’s
never been a tougher time to find employment as a graduate. I finished my
degree back in 2016, and saw my non-disabled friends begin to attend interview
after interview, with the luckiest ones finally managing to secure a job.
Meanwhile, there’s me: just as academically capable as my peers, but unable to
work full-time or leave the house more than a couple of times a week, due to my
long-term health condition. If my non-disabled peers were having a tough time finding
work, what chance did somebody like me have?
I’ve lived with my condition
since I was a teenager, and by the time I’d graduated, I knew exactly what kind
of employment I needed: opportunities suitable for my skills and interests, but
with part-time hours and where I could mostly work from home. I’ve had a whole
range of employment experiences in the past, but I feel so fortunate to now be
able to say I’ve now found things that work for me.
It
was sheer luck that, thanks to being a long-time Scope supporter, I found out
about their opportunity for a new Online Community Intern: a reduced-hours,
flexible role where I could work from home. I was so chuffed to be offered the
position, and after a few months working as an intern, I secured a permanent
role within the community team. I’ve now been part of Team Scope for a year,
and there are still frequent moments where I reflect on how fortunate I feel to
work for an organisation that wholly supports inclusive employment.
Although
I work from home, I’ve always very much felt like I’m part of the team: thanks
to technology and new software, I’m in constant contact with my colleagues and always
feel up to date about what’s happening within the organisation. I can reach out
to anyone at any time, just as if I was in the office, and my colleagues and I
are constantly finding new ways we can successfully work together. Even though
I’m 170 miles away from Head Office, I’ve never once felt isolated.
Another
one of my concerns about entering the world of employment was how I would
manage to balance my duties with my fluctuating health condition. As anybody
with a chronic illness will know all too well, getting through the day requires
careful activity management, and again, this is something that I feel has been
recognised and appreciated by my employers. I work reduced hours with the
flexibility to move these around in case of medical appointments or tough
symptom days, and I have regular catch-ups with my line manager to discuss how
things are going and whether there’s any other support I might benefit from.
Not only does this flexibility mean that I can work in a safe way, it also
means I work better and smarter too.
Above
all, I feel so privileged to be working for an organisation that not only
recognises and accommodates my disability, but embraces it: we deal with any
issues my chronic illness presents, and we work out ways I can succeed
regardless. Inclusive workplace practice means that not only am I in employment
and supporting myself, but that I can pursue a
career of my own as well. I’m not just part of a tick-box staff diversity
exercise, I’m not one of those rogue disabled people Philip Hammond believed
were slowing down the workforce… I’m a valued employee in my own right.
And as somebody who once spent frequent nights sat
awake worrying about that very issue during my student
years, I know it’s something I’ll never take for granted.
The fact that I feel so fortunate
in having a fulfilling and safe job, where I’m not thought less of because of
my condition, just goes to show how low the bar is currently set for disabled
people wanting to enter the world of work. There are still thousands of people
in the country who are continually being excluded from employment due to their disability
or health condition and the most frequent question I get asked by people in my
blogging community is ‘how on EARTH did you manage to find that job?!’.
As I discussed in another recent
post, if the UK wants to bring more disabled people into the workforce,
the answer isn’t reducing the benefit payments of severely unwell people so
that they can no longer afford a quality of life. Instead, we need to listen to
the experiences of those who ARE capable of work, and consider how employing them
can best be implemented safely and correctly. I hope with everything in me that
now is the time that more organisations realise just how valuable inclusive
employment can be.
How do you think we can make employment practices in the UK more
inclusive? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
