Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write about a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-seventh day of the month is "Priority."
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As some of you may know, I have been job hunting for what seems like a billion years. I do not want to talk about the job search much (because it is both humiliating and soul crushing), but what I want to talk about is the equal employment opportunity questions that frequently come at the end of an application - these are the ones that ask about race/ethnicity, if you're a veteran or not, and if you're disabled. The disability question frequently looks like this
and then asks the following question.
I have a lot of questions. First up, did anyone notice that Celiac disease is on this list? After filling out about a million of these forms, I asked my husband if he considered himself disabled. He very carefully answered the question about how with a well-controlled diet he is considered in "remission," but that he does need accommodations around food, which could be a problem with certain jobs (think: astronaut or soldier and even Catholic priest), so he'd probably check the "I do not want to answer box." Eating is a "major life activity" and he does have limitations.
Which brings me to the heart of the matter. My husband's disability (?) rarely comes up in his job. Yes, he's had some very awkward interviews. Academic interviews tend to take place over multiple days and generally include things like dinner with faculty members and lunch with students and my husband simply cannot eat at restaurants, so he definitely went and ordered salad and poked it around with a fork without taking a single bite to be polite, meaning he frequently went entire days without actually eating anything. But, in general, he doesn't need to eat while at work, so it doesn't interfere with his job.
But what if your disability did require some sort of accommodation, no matter how small? What if you need a special chair with lumbar support? Or reading screens to magnify the size of font? Or whatever.
Would you disclose? Would it matter to you how large or small the accommodation would have to be? Or would you simply not answer? What do you prioritize in a case like this - privacy or accommodation?
I don't know which I'd choose.
This is a really interesting question. On the one hand, I kind of feel like "it's none of your damn business" but on the other hand, upon getting a job, I would want to have my needs met and accommodated. But would that put me out of the running, disclosing that? I just don't know. I tend to be a little bit skeptical thinking that if it came down to it, perhaps an employer would choose a person with no health issues over a person with health issues. So I just don't know what to think. I'm looking also at things like ADHD and depression - many people are coming to acceptance about these things as an adult, and do we really need to disclose that to a potential employer? Particularly if you are working towards dealing with them? I'm feeling like that's a no.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think it's a tough question. If you do need accommodations, when is the appropriate time in a job search process to disclose it? I mean, if you don't need accommodations, I think saying no to the question is appropriate, but if you're going to need something, what's the best move?
DeleteI am not sure why it is legal to include personal questions like this. I don't know what employers can pry into in Canada.
ReplyDeleteThese are questions that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) asks in the States and the questions are actually intended to enforce laws against discrimination based on race, sex, disabilities, and the like. Companies are basically not supposed to use this data for much except reporting (see Birchie's comment below), but the employers are the ones gathering the information, so there's nothing to stop them from using the data as part of their decision making process.
DeleteAs a perpetual job hunter, there are days when I feel like all that I do is check boxes that I'm a white chick. It took me a while to figure out that on most application sites you can just skip these questions - I don't mean click the "decline to answer" button, I mean just skip. It puts hours back into your day! The employer is required to ask, but you're usually not required to answer. In my industry, there are enough not-obnoxious sites that I can be picky and not apply to jobs that require me to create accounts and put in much more effort besides giving them my name, phone number, and resume. I think it might be different for academic jobs.
ReplyDeleteAs best I know from the other side, the only time that an employer uses the info is to assess their DEI and it's required for some employer reporting. For one reporting project that I had to do, the instructions were that if someone declined to disclose that you were supposed to take your best guess on their gender and race based on social media pictures, so my reporting was based on my assessment of LinkedIn profile pictures ("yep, that looks like a white dude"). What I'm saying is that I don't think that checking the boxes on an application does anything to get you the accommodation. In the end you're going to be having a discussion with your employer about your specific needs.
Here's to the day when you won't be talking about your job search much because it's a thing of the past!
Oof. I think the idea of looking at a photo and trying to decide sex and race would be really hard for me. Not sure how accurate it would be! (And there's no way to tell disability from a photo, so if someone leaves that question blank, you'd have no way to figure that out!)
DeleteI think you're right that employers aren't supposed to use the data from the EEO questions as part of their decision making process, but I wonder how many are? I mean, it would be easy enough to see that you have two equally qualified candidates, but one needs accommodations and the other doesn't...which would you hire?
That's a really tricky topic. As much as I would like to think that we're trying to do away with stigma and embrace openly talking about disabilities, I don't think we're quite there yet where disclosing something like that is a "non-issue".
ReplyDeleteI mean, just think about how long it takes for most people to open up to family and friends about health issues... it takes a lot of trust. I don't know if a *potential" new employer has earned that trust, in fact, I'd sadly expect them to judge me on these disclosures.
I think it's a NO at this time.
I think it's a tough question because at some point you're going to have to disclose if you get the job and need accommodations, so when is the right time to make that disclosure?!
DeleteIt's a very interesting discussion, isn't it? I mean, I see migraines on that list, and yes, sometimes mine have been bad enough that I have to leave work early, but do I want to be putting that in their mind during interviews? It's not like it's a regular occurrence. There aren't any accommodations I've asked for related to headaches, anyway. But does checking that you don't want to answer make them assume you do have one? I really don't know. After a string of job searches due to layoffs, I haven't actually interviewed since 2014, so I'm not up to date on such things.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about the checking that you don't want to answer making them assume you have a disability, too. I mean, I wouldn't want to lie, but as Nicole said above, it's sort of none of their business, so it's a tricky place to navigate. Hm. I wonder if a lot of people grapple with this question and I'm late to the party about worrying about it.
DeleteHmm, I notice "cancer (past or present)" is on the list- my sister had cancer but is completely fine now- I don't think she would say she has a disability. It's definitely a tricky question. Reading Birchwood Pie's comment, I think I would just leave it blank and THEN, if I had something that would require accommodations, bring it up at the appropriate time (whenever that would be.)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think the parenthetical buried the important part, though! When IS the appropriate time to bring it up?
DeleteSuch an interesting conversation; wish I had other insights to share... All best wishes with your job search, NGS!
ReplyDeleteIt IS interesting. I really think it's great that the government collects this information, but I worry about if they're getting any useful information at all.
DeleteHuh. I had no idea this was something that was asked. Since I have RA, I would be considered disabled but I don't think of myself as disabled... I don't technically have celiac because I was never tested (blood test wasn't positive so I would have had to get a scope which I passed on as I was a poor 20-something when I was trying to figure out what was wrong). I also have anxiety which I take meds for. I would think it would be a liability for a company to collect this information! Unless the collection of this information is completely separate from what the hiring manager sees. I'll be hiring a position this summer so it will be interesting to see what it's like to be on the other side of the interviewing process!
ReplyDeleteI think this information is supposed to be just for reporting purposes, but I mean, if the company is collecting it, someone sees it, right? I don't know. It's complicated.
DeleteI usually click "I do not have a disability" on these job search forms, even though technically I do because I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and I'm on medication to stabilize it. However, I do not have a disability that would affect my job performance (thankfully, I'm a high-performing anxious person, lol) and do not require specific accommodations so it's just not something I feel is necessary to disclose to a company.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder if they ever get good data because so many people don't disclose. I mean, it's none of their business if they don't need to make accommodations for you, but would they be able to do something to make your life easier if they knew? It's such a hard question!
DeleteI believe most people would avoid the answers or answer NONE.
ReplyDeleteI find it really strange that Substance Abuse is now considered a disability. Hmmmm....makes me wonder since that is brought on by ones self.
I think substance abuse is considered a mental health issue because of the way some people are more predisposed to it than others (I mean, a lot of people try drugs or alcohol and don't become addicts) - it's a brain chemistry issue, not a choice, right?
DeleteWow. I didn't realize it was that detailed now. Crazy. I would either skip (as someone noted above) or just say no. I'm a super-private person and even now few people know of my health challenges (well, other than the small group that reads my blog, LOL...). Hang in there. Sorry the job process sucks. Still.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Birchie, I've never seen an application where I could skip the question. It's always a mandatory question (like veteran status and ethnicity). It's so hard to know what to do!
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