There is often an idea of what the typical ‘workplace’ looks like. This includes hours in a day, expectations and self-sufficiency. But what if you cannot meet general expectations because of who you are? As humans, we try to categorize almost everything around us in order to make decisions and see results, but we cannot do this for everything and everyone. If you struggle to come into the office as often as expected because you are physically disabled, you are often qualified based on this instead of your qualities as an employee. A ‘good’ workplace will respect this, and here at Codit, we see the advantages of your differences. We judge you based on your drive, passions and motivations rather than anything else.
Personalized workloads for everyone
People with special needs often feel that they don’t fit into ‘normal’ categories. Someone with autism might ask for a fixed desk in a hot-desking office, because they need a sense of reliability. You might not recognize someone with OCD struggling with compulsions in the office. A person with ALS may need to ask for help to work on a whiteboard to display their ideas physically. Seeing the hidden reason and not the visible action means seeing the real person.
At Codit, we have a ‘people-first’ mentality. Firstly, we always make sure that the workload matches the capacity of an employee. This might mean being able to take more unpaid holidays, working at locations that make you feel the most comfortable, switching to projects with a more stable environment, or removing client contact to maximize structure. This is all okay with Codit: we do everything we can to help every employee, standardizing custom workloads by person and not purely by their technical qualities.
Working on inclusion from day one
What it all boils down to is inclusion. In too many companies, people with special needs are left out of the equation. Just because you don’t see them, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. This is primarily because the barrier for attendance is too high. Inclusion is about being open to all people, and this is ingrained in Codit’s core. We try to act as a single group, where barriers are lowered so anyone can be a part of the team — each in their own way.
Every company must constantly be improving its accessibility, and at Codit we recognize that there is still much to do to make events inclusive. However, we do offer many activities open to everyone, from hackathons to family days, and physical activities to virtual Christmas parties.
Inclusion is about embracing differences. Inclusion is a verb, not a state. There is always work to be done to include everybody. There exists a tremendous amount of talent, just beyond the inclusion border. People with fresh ideas and great motivation. Codit has seen this treasure of people and not only attracts these people but tries its very best to keep them.
Studies have shown that being inclusive and increasing the diversity of your workplace will only improve profit, with diverse companies reporting 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee.
A special workplace
No workplace is perfect and Codit still has a long way to go. We have to keep striving towards an even more inclusive environment for all employees. Many other businesses, however, refuse to see the advantages and different perspectives that people with special needs can offer. The best work is done when people are seen as people, not stock figures.
At Codit, we celebrate every one of our employees.
Thank you for reading,
Stijn
Want to join the Codit family? Contact one of our recruiters
Contact Marlies
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