An academic from Coventry University is leading a project to investigate how the shift to working from home we’ve seen during the pandemic is affecting people with disabilities and who are neurodiverse.
With prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday announcing new guidance to work from home as part of trying to mitigate the spread of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19, the move by Dr Christine Grant, a researcher at the university’s Centre for Healthcare Research, is potentially timely.
Dr Grant will be working with the NHS in the south east of England, telecoms giant Vodafone, Coventry City Council and a range of charities, including Leonard Cheshire and Dyslexia Box, on a project called Remote4All, in a bid to fill a gap in understanding the impact of home working.
The research team intends to use information gathered from reviews of existing academic research and in-depth online interviews with employers, employees and others to identify challenges around home working and, from there, generate resources to encourage more inclusive working environments.
The intention is also to create a toolkit to support individuals, organisations and practitioners, which can feed into guidance to influence wider societal and government policy.
Hybrid and home working
Hybrid working reducing access to first aiders
Dr Grant said: “There is a considerable lack of scientific knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of remote e-working for individuals with disabilities. People with a disability and specific needs might be overlooked by employers, feel invisible and not valued as members of their work community.
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“We believe information is needed, to give an in-depth understanding of the lived experience of people with disabilities or neurodiversity, and to gather insightful information for the design of policies and practices for inclusive work environments from employers and key stakeholders.”
Carl Clarke, Vodafone Group director of talent, learning and skills, added: “This research will provide valuable insights into the remote working experience of people with a disability and those with specific needs, enabling us to better support all our employees and provide an inclusive remote working experience for all.”
