Adapt and Empower: HR Perspective - Jessie Fields
Disabilities in the Workplace - Interview Series
Organizations must actively adapt their processes, educate managers, and create supportive networks to empower employees with disabilities to perform without fear or shame.
Jessie Fields - LinkedIn
“It’s easy to want to apologize and make others feel comfortable. Fight that urge. You are worthy of taking up space and requesting what you need to get your best work done.”
Article Takeaways:
Create Clear Processes: Organizations should simplify and clarify the disclosure and accommodation processes, making them easily accessible and understandable for employees with disabilities.
Educate and Support Managers: Providing training to managers on the ADA, disclosure processes, and unconscious biases is crucial to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace.
Build Support Networks: Establishing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) focused on disability and neurodivergence can offer safe spaces for employees to share experiences, advocate for themselves, and influence organizational changes.
We’d love to get to know you! Please share a bit about yourself, the company you work for and why you chose a career in People & Culture!
As most HR leaders will tell you, HR was not my first choice. My background is in art and design, so I figured my career would be full of creative roles. But I learned early that regardless of what role you play on a team, you have to navigate these blurry things like power dynamics, social norms, and organizational culture, which when unchecked, often lead to inequity. I was fascinated! I let myself take a hard right, and I decided to bring my creative chops to the world of HR.
I currently work for a global fintech called C2FO, whose mission is equity-driven -- ensuring all businesses have access to the capital they need to thrive. I spend my days coaching leaders to be more people-driven, empowering employees to advocate for themselves, and bringing a creative flair to monotonous HR processes, all with the goal to build a more equitable, inclusive and caring workplace.
How would your friends describe you and your personality?
Bold, caring, and stubborn -- I am an Aries through and through!
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 16% of the world’s population experience significant disability, and the number is likely higher, closer to 25%, due to underreporting.
How does your organization support people who live with disabilities? Can you give a specific example?
Our company has an Employee Resource Group (ERG) dedicated to the topic of disability and neurodivergence called Adapt.
Adapt's mission is to not only help employees with disability and neurodivergence to adapt to the needs of the company but to also help the company adapt to the needs of all employees. This group has rolled out ADA education and began three support groups -- one for people with ADHD, one for people with Autism, and a group for those in recovery/practicing sobriety.
By focusing on building connections and sharing their experiences with each other, this ERG was able to advocate for some important changes in our HR processes, internal communications, and manager training.
What do organizations need to do to create a safe and trusting place for people to disclose? Please be as specific as possible.
I think there are many hurdles individuals with disabilities face that organizations have the power to change.
Lack of information -- Organizations should make the disclosure and reasonable accommodation process clear and easy, especially since individuals with disabilities are likely already navigating a complicated healthcare or pharmaceutical system. Outline processes and definitions in the employee handbook, and include links to external resources (like JAN). Keep it "human" by breaking down any legalese or encouraging team members to reach out directly to a person and not a nameless HR email inbox.
Unsupportive and misinformed managers -- Managers need training and support too! HR should provide training not only on the ADA and disclosure process (and what managers should and should not do/say) but also break down misconceptions and unconscious biases we might have about disability in the workplace.
Fear of isolation and judgment -- Build support networks for people with disabilities, like Employee Resource Groups. These can be safe spaces for people to share their experiences, advocate for themselves and for others, and raise feedback to leadership or HR on what the organization could be doing better.
We know that disclosing a disability to our manager or HR takes a lot of courage. What advice would you like to share with someone who needs to or wants to disclose their disability, illness, or condition at work?
You are navigating a complicated -- and in so many ways antiquated -- system, which can require you to put a lot of yourself out there in ways others don't have to, sometimes over and over again. It's easy to feel shame. It's easy to want to apologize and make others feel comfortable. Fight that urge. You are worthy of taking up space and requesting what you need to get your best work done.
Jessie Fields Bio:
Jessie Fields loves a good puzzle, and nothing is more puzzling than people.
She has committed her career to helping leaders better understand and solve for the needs of their most valued resources -- their team members.
Whether it's tackling top-down systemic challenges or empowering grassroots efforts, Jessie aims to help make work better for everyone. Jessie is the Director of Talent Development, Engagement, and DEI at C2FO, and lives with her wife, two cats, and pup in Missoula, MT.
