October is National Disability Employment Month here in the U.S., but American gimps aren’t the only ones venturing into the job market. Liz Carr, a columnist for the BBC’s disability-themed Ouch! website, writes about the challenges of adapting to the rigors of a 9-to-5 office job after years of self-employment. She comments on the shock of getting up early, being the only person with a visible disability in the office, and bringing an attendant to work with her every day. Much of it sounds awfully familiar, although the awkward behavior of colleagues that Liz describes is a distant memory for me. Once my team members realized I wasn’t likely to die in the middle of a meeting, they quickly became pretty comfortable in my presence.
A word of advice to Liz as she settles into office life: volunteer to take on some extra assignment that nobody else wants. You’d be surprised how quickly that earns you friends.
