Did you know that over a third of disabled people in the UK have an Energy Limiting Condition? Energy Limiting Conditions (ELCs) are characterised by energy impairment (fatigue that is not alleviated by rest) and chronic pain, and include conditions such as Long Covid, ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Cancer, and many other neurological, musculoskeletal, autoimmune, and respiratory diseases too.
The majority of the Astriid team also manages their own ELCs. We know first-hand that although our conditions affect us daily, they don’t hinder our career ambitions or the unique value we bring to the workplace. So today, let us tell you exactly why employers should be hiring and creating roles specifically for people with ELCs.
Here at Astriid, we help forward-thinking employers to become more inclusive in their workplace practice, and also connect them with skilled individuals who can enhance their organisation. Time and time again, we’ve seen that in the right environment and with the appropriate adjustments, being in work can change a person’s quality of life for the better. Not only that – these talented people can add enormous value to the business or organisation too.
In the past, employers have sometimes been wary of hiring individuals living with long-term illness, for fear of not getting it ‘right’. However, now is the time to take a step forward and level up your inclusion efforts.
And what’s in it for you? Well, the creative and flexible ways that people with ELCs work make us the ideal solution to the current UK skills crisis, meaning you’ll be better equipped than ever to fill the roles you’re recruiting for.
We can tell you a million different ways that our Energy Limiting Conditions make us more employable. Here you can read just a few of them, and keep scrolling to watch the video and hear directly from our candidates!
Work Performance
- We have perseverance – the grit to see things through and find ways of making things happen even in the trickiest of situations.
- We’re excellent communicators – we know how to express our needs and tailor our language when communicating in different situations. We have strong advocacy abilities and many of us are particularly skilled in written and verbal communication.
- We’re smart workers – when you have limited energy, you learn how to put it to best use and ensure it’s contributing to your goals rather than being used superficially.
- We pay attention to detail – we know how to be meticulous and attentive to detail when the task requires it, because it’s optimising the smallest parts of something that makes the final product great.
Working Habits
- We are adaptable – we have lived experience of adapting to changing circumstances and a strong ability to adjust.
- We’re realistic goal setters – we know how to work towards milestones in a safe and sustainable way, and we know how to assess and review our personal capabilities on an ongoing basis.
- We have excellent time management skills – not only in terms of planning ahead, but using time wisely and knowing how to prioritise.
- We’re committed – we make very careful choices about how we use our time and energy. We take the opportunity to work seriously, and we don’t just see it as a way to pass the time or simply pay the bills. We’re committed to giving our best to our careers and to the organisation we work with, because we value and immerse ourselves in the whole experience of being in work rather than just the wages paid.
Personal Traits
- We’re strategic – we’re full of self-management strategies to help look after ourselves and bring our best selves to the table.
- We’re self-aware – we’re in tune with ourselves, we know our strengths and weaknesses, and can readily identify what we need to thrive in any given situation.
- We’re resilient – many of us know what it’s like to be stigmatised or marginalised, or to face adversity, so we’re equipped with skills to manage personal setbacks and not take them to heart.
- We have patience – we’re able to keep sight of the bigger picture, trust the process, and not be consumed by setbacks or difficulties. Many people with ELCs have had to navigate inaccessible education and training environments and yet have still become highly qualified alongside managing a long-term illness.
- We are self-motivated – living with a chronic illness, we have to take full responsibility for making the most out of life and we know how to motivate ourselves even when things feel difficult.
Team Building
- We have respect for others – we know that that anybody in the environment around us could be struggling, even if their struggle is not immediately visible, and we intuitively take this into account in our interactions.
- We’re socially conscious – we know what it’s like to try and thrive in a society that wasn’t designed for us, so many of us do what we can to make the world a better place for everybody.
- We have empathy – we often find it easier to understand and relate to others, making us strong and trustworthy team players.
- We have excellent delegation skills – we understand how to delegate responsibilities to ensure good performance, and most importantly, we know how to do this fairly and effectively.
So, have we convinced you yet? Hiring and creating roles for people with Energy Limiting Conditions isn’t a token gesture – it’s a smart business decision that can add enormous value to your organisation.
Here at Astriid, we help forward-thinking employers to become more disability inclusive. We offer bespoke consultancy, talks, training and research to tackle the systemic barriers that are standing in-between talented individuals and the business need for their skills.
Whether you’d like to attract the best talent for your roles, retain your current workforce should they develop long-term or Energy Limiting Conditions, or empower team members with existing conditions to perform at their best, let us partner with you to transform the challenge of long-term conditions into an opportunity for your organisation to flourish. Registration is now open for both our Flexible Working eLearning course and our Inclusive Recruitment Training, with plenty more to come. Be sure to sign up for our free newsletter if you’d like to keep updated!
If you’d like to find out more in the meantime, head to Astriid Consulting. You can sign up for our free newsletter full of resources, or you can email [email protected] to get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you!