Flexible working location for ALL employees is essential for accessibility

One person working remotely is not a helpful accommodation

In the past, some companies have allowed people with disabilities to work remotely. Whilst a seemingly reasonable accommodation, this can be less helpful than you'd initially assume. Working remotely for a company not set up for remote work can require more effort and be more draining than just working from the office. This means people with disabilities often juggle the complexities of their disconnected working arrangement alongside both their regular job and the added overhead of managing their disability, which can be a full-time job in itself.

Being the only remote member of a team can also lead to both intentional and accidental ostracization. Whether it be choosing to discuss important information at informal in-person gatherings (lunch, water cooler, etc), or continuing a discussion during meetings with poor audio quality of in-person participants.

If a company correctly implements a hybrid model where anyone can work remotely, enough people will work remotely for the company to adequately accommodate for it. This means that managing yourself compared to your team is no longer a massive task on top of your regular job, and also that you’re not missing out on important information.

Not everyone has visible disabilities

In situations where companies allow people with disabilities to work remotely, many people who need accommodation can still fall through the cracks. Especially with invisible disabilities, medical professionals and employers routinely ignore people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. For these people, convincing their employer that they need these accommodations both with or without doctor support can be a daunting and stressful task. This is especially true for women and other marginalised groups.

In some cases, they may also not want their coworkers knowing that they need accommodations. Some people can also be hesitant to approach their employer for accommodations out of fear, despite reasonable accommodations being a legal right in many places.

When companies allow anyone to work remotely with no questions asked, these people can get the accommodations they need without facing problems.

Disabilities are inconsistent

Some people with disabilities can work from an office on occasion; they most likely want to for socialisation and other workplace benefits. However, disabilities are not consistent. A common compromise for companies mandating a return to office, is a hybrid model that only requires a minimum number of days in the office per week. Requiring people with disabilities to come into the office a limited amount of time, especially on a strict schedule, generally does not work.

It's challenging to predict and control a disability; the unexpected can happen anytime and significantly impact the level of functionality someone can perform. Some people undergo flare-ups that can last multiple months to years, preventing working from an office for that time. Scheduling a week around a few better days that allow going to the office is almost always not feasible nor reasonable.

Conclusion

For all people who need location-flexibility based accommodations to truly receive them, companies need to be built for that model by allowing the option for all workers who choose to. There are, of course, other arguments for and against flexible working environments, but from an accessibility perspective, allowing everyone flexible working locations is the clear winner. Accessibility is not a workplace perk; it’s a requirement for many people to participate in society.