[Title: Inclusive hybrid work]
[Text: What are you doing to support employees with disability?]
[Audio: Soft background music]
Female voice over: An interview.
[Visual: Sam enters the scene and sits on a chair.]
Sam: There’s always that moment when you’re in a new job and you don’t know what to expect. How safe is this job gonna be?
[Text: We spoke to Sam about her experiences with hybrid work as a person with disability in the Victorian public sector.]
Sam: You’re kind of like: ok, so they’re ok with this, but they’re not ok with this and it was just kind of realising there was this really nice parade of green flags. I’m actually ok to talk about everything. Nothing where I have to mask who I am.
[Text: Sam’s mum watched on to learn more about her daily experiences.]
[Visual: Sam’s mum enters the scene and sits on a chair.]
Sam: My mum has always seen my creativity, has always encouraged it. She’s always known that I’m a bit odd and doesn’t always get it.
[Visual: Sam’s mum smiles.]
Sam: The current system at my workplace is that we have to allocate which days we will work from the office and which days we’ll work from home. I’ve got a multitude of disabilities and none of them are really schedulable.
I struggle when people don’t turn the camera on. When I’m talking to people and I can’t see their facial expressions, I get really, really anxious about how they’re reacting to what I’m saying.
But equally, if I’m struggling to put the mask on, I prefer to have my camera off, because I don’t want anyone to know that I’m vulnerable. I have to straddle both of those needs.
It’s terrifying because you think about how it’s going to impact your ability to work and there’s already so many things.
[Visual: Sam’s mum watches solemnly. Sam enters and hugs her then sits next to her.]
Sam’s mum: Hello!
Sam: Hello.
Sam’s mum: Why do you always speak so well? Must have been that education I gave you.
Sam: You brung me up right [laughs]
Sam’s mum: People are happy that they can work from home. Most people are. With the hybrid working, they get to go into the office, they get to socialise, talk to real people, not just a computer screen.
Sam: To me, I see it as giving everyone the best option.
Sam’s mum: Yeah.
Sam: And I think, you know, for me, having the option to have hybrid work is fantastic. And, you know, when I think about the middle of the pandemic and how desperate I was to get back into the office and to see people again, hybrid was exactly what I was after.
You really do have to put yourself out there when you have an invisible disability because you’re essentially saying:
I kind of have to, like, share with you something that I would normally only share with my therapist or, you know, my nearest and dearest.
I need you to understand, because if you don’t understand, you’re not actually going to…work with me on this.
Sam’s mum: Isn’t it really about educating people more about disability?
Sam: I think that’s a large part of it. I think education is, yeah, a very big part of it.
If we can get people to understand that, like, most people either have a disability, have had a disability, will have a disability, or love someone with a disability.
But also, most people don’t realise that. And I think that’s what’s holding everything back.
[Visual: Sam and her mum hold hands.]
[Text: What are you doing to support inclusive hybrid work? Find out what you can do at vpsc.vic.gov.au/inclusivework]
[Text: Co-sponsored by]
[Visual: Department of Transport and Planning logo and Victorian Public Sector Commission logo]
[End of transcript]