Small cost, big dividends

Andrew Bryant says he's thankful to be able to continue in his sales job with IBM in spite of his vision and hearing loss caused by the genetic disease Usher syndrome.

"When I said I couldn't drive, they could have said, 'Well, that's in your job description,' " he said.

Although he notes that such a cold dismissal might not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, he says his employer has done the opposite and gone the extra mile. IBM has installed technical equipment and helped work out car pools to Bryant's Smyrna office so that he can continue his career with the company he joined seven years ago.

Bryant, 38, spends much of the day matching customers — who are seeking information about more than a million products — with specialized departments. He adjusts his computer monitor to display type at 14 points (this story is set in 9.5-point type), and his special mouse can flash a signal when it gets lost outside his narrow field of vision. His phone headset helps him clearly hear customer requests that he might not hear with a regular handset.

If these accommodations don't sound particularly expensive, that's because, like most workplace accommodations for people with disabilities, they aren't.

"Nearly half of all accommodations cost nothing," said Beth Loy, a research and policy analyst with the West Virginia University-based Job Accommodation Network. "Most of the time it's a matter of rearranging the work space, creating a flexible schedule or letting someone work from home."

Even when accommodations come with a cost, Loy said, the typical price tag is about $500 for things such as a larger chair, a larger monitor or a cordless headset.

Alan Muir, executive director of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Career Opportunities for Students With Disabilities, says the best advice for employers who want to accommodate someone with a physical or cognitive disability is to ask the employee what accommodations he or she needs, rather than trying to guess what is needed. Often, he said, employers conjure up a much more elaborate solution than is required.

"My famous story is when I went to visit NASA at Kennedy Space Center, and they were excited about a new employee who was a quadriplegic," Muir said. "He was a large guy who needed a large chair, and he said, 'All I need is a desk I can raise to fit my chair under.'

"Well, they're NASA engineers, so they went to work and created this gyroscopically controlled chair that could do everything but make coffee. And the guy said, 'That's great, but do any of you guys have a couple of blocks of wood at home in the garage, so we could raise the desk a little bit?' "

Loy said that, during her 11 years at the Job Accommodation Network, she's identified significant changes in the questions her federally funded agency handles. Last year the network fielded about 32,000 calls, she said.

The top trends, she said, include:

• Employers today are more comfortable making accommodations for workers with psychological impairments. "The comments have changed from 'I don't see it' to asking the question 'What changes can I make to accommodate?' "

• Employers are asking more about back and carpal tunnel — or repetitive motion — injuries.

• Employers have changed their approach to the questions, from worrying primarily about their legal liability under the ADA to asking about cost-effective options to accommodate workers and keep them productive.

"An example, in an industrial setting, is when a person is injured," Loy said. "They say, 'We want to keep this person and make sure this doesn't happen again.' "

The federal government created several programs over the years to provide tax incentives for accommodating employees who have disabilities. The incentives vary widely by program and by size of the business, but tax deductions can amount to thousands of dollars when businesses remove architectural and transportation barriers.

Hiring people with disabilities and including them in marketing plans isn't motivated solely by do-gooder instincts. About 54 million people in the United States have disabilities, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census — part of the 750 million worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

And employers are well aware, particularly in the United States, that many in the aging population of baby boomers will be challenged by diminished hearing and vision.

While not many will contract the statistically rare Usher syndrome, many will need to find work-arounds similar to those used by IBM's Bryant.

His first two years at IBM, he spent much of his time in face-to-face sales — driving to each call, like many sales representatives. But in his third year, he had four car accidents as his vision deteriorated.

Bryant was one of the first people in his building to get a laptop computer, so he could work from home when his car pool didn't work out. He often communicates by e-mail and instant messaging, because his hearing limitations are not a factor.

Many people have laptops now, and telecommuting isn't all that unusual.

"But that's kind of the point of what accommodation is," Muir said. "It's not necessarily the latest and greatest technology out there. Sometimes it's just a larger [monitor] screen."