Monthly Archives: September 2010

Special Accommodations for Employees Results in Increased Productivity

Accessibility, Business, , ,

I recently watched a story that aired on the show, CBS Sunday Morning, about BMW in Germany and how they are looking ahead to accommodate the “special needs” of an aging workforce. BMW values their older workers because they have more patience and skills that comes with experience. What they have less of is flexibility, strength and keen eyesight. My ears perked up because I was hearing a similarity between aging workers and common challenges of individuals with disabilities.

BMW created a special project taskforce team of employees with an average of 47 to provide feedback on how BMW can make things better on their production floor.  The responses they received included; use of magnifying glasses, wooden floors, special shoes, computer screens with larger type, seats to sit on, and places to stretch on the work floor. In the end, they made approximately 70 small changes that cost about $50,000.

The surprising part of the project’s results was the impact on profitability. BMW experienced a 7% increase in productivity, a reduction in absenteeism, and a defect rate of zero. With these results, BMW is no longer calling this a project to aid the elderly.  They are calling it their fresh, new plan to increase productivity.

I am impressed with BMW’s willingness to face the reality of an aging workforce that is looming seven years down the road and to admit they didn’t have a solution. Kudos to BMW for seeing and naming the elephant in the room!

I am impressed with BMW’s process of being curious, engaging directly with the workers, and asking them to tell management how to make working conditions better. They went straight to the source!

I am impressed with the simplicity and practicality of these special accommodations.  It took so little for the company to improve the quality of life for their employees, and in turn, for the company to profit on multiple levels. Humanitarian and profitable!

I wonder how many companies avoid proactively hiring workers with disabilities because they don’t know what special accommodations they’ll need? When we don’t know, our imaginations often run wild and we think up all sorts of “what if” scenarios – most of them very expensive. Many times the needed accommodations are actually very simple and practical – if we are just willing to go directly to the source and ask “What do you need to make things better?” The solutions may be surprisingly simple and they may also be beneficial for other employees in the company. It could just be a simple and powerful way to increase employee morale, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity — the dream trifecta for every organization.

Your Child’s in Tears. What’s a Mom to do?

Parenting, Self-Care, , ,

 

It’s the start of the school year for moms and kids everywhere. Moms are back to focusing on helping their child have a positive school experience. For moms of a child with special needs, this is an especially stressful time of year—ensuring the team is in place to support your child with IEP’s, special education, transportation, school nurses, teachers etc.

After you’ve worn yourself out to get the school system in place, there will likely come a day when your child comes home in tears because they couldn’t run fast enough to keep up with the other kids at recess or someone called them “weirdo”. You’ve done everything humanly possible to help your child and still it’s not enough—because you can’t make the disability go away and you can’t control what others say or do. So, what do you do when your child is looking at you with tears rolling down their cheeks?

Speaking from the perspective of an adult who was once a child with a disability, Spina Bifida, I wanted my mom to hold me in her arms, listen to my stories and let me share all my feelings of sad, mad, scared and hurt. I wanted my mom to be with me so I wouldn’t be all alone. Like any kid, I wished my mom could just kiss it and make it better e.g. make the Spina Bifida go away. Other than keeping me home with her forever, my mom wasn’t able to keep me from being hurt sometimes. What she could give me was a safe place where all of me was accepted and loved—in her arms where all my big, messy feelings are welcome.

To moms (and dads), holding your child when they’re crying may seem simple enough to do, yet in reality, there is nothing more challenging than holding your child while your heart breaks for their pain, you’re furious at the world for hurting your child, and feeling helpless to make it better. This is especially true when you’re exhausted from working so hard, every single day, to make your child’s life the best it can be and you’re feeling sad, mad, scared and frustrated yourself.

My invitation for parents is to be real with your child and let them know that you share their pain. Acknowledge and validate your child’s feelings, let your child know that it does stink and you hate it too. You both share the experience of disability—each from your own perspective—why not share feelings too? You don’t need to be stoic and heroic pillars of strength for your child.

When a parent validates their child’s experience, this lets your child know “It’s OK to be as you are. I am here.” By doing so, you give your child permission to be more fully themselves, allowing their emotions to flow through them more freely without pushing them away. This builds emotional capacity in your child and develops their resiliency at handling the frustrations and challenges of life, including living with a disability.

In both my personal and professional experience, I have learned that the ability to be emotionally present with another, especially a precious loved one, requires that you are first able to be present with your own feelings. And feelings related to disability are typically very big feelings. I encourage parents to get support for themselves—where all of you is accepted and loved. A safe person who will listen to your stories and welcome all your big, messy feelings.  This builds your emotional capacity and develops your resiliency to be with your child — whatever they are experiencing or feeling.

If you’d like to read more about sharing the grief and feelings with your child, one of my favorite articles on this topic is “When Facing Disabilities, it’s OK to explore the grief” by Barbara Meltz, which ran in the Boston Globe on April 7, 2005.