Why Commuting Is So Hard When You Are Disabled

An important topic of conversation right now is the commute to work. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been reconsidering their commute to work and critically thinking about the impact it has on them and their week. 

This topic of conversation is particularly important for disabled people. Commuting to work is an entirely different kettle of fish for disabled people than it is for non-disabled people. Many disabled people have found that the different working options opened to them post-pandemic have been significantly better due to this lack of commuting in their daily lives. 

It is important to discuss this topic because it is key that the flexible working options we are seeing right now continue to be available for disabled people going forward. Different approaches to working and living are allowing more disabled people to get into and stay at work than ever before. With our current disability employment gap being where it is, this is a critical trend for us to continue. 

At Careers with Disabilities, we believe in helping as many disabled people as possible enter and stay in the workforce. We believe in the power of disabled people in the working market as a whole and we want to help turn the tides of this disability employment gap in the U.K. 

With that in mind, we have created this blog to talk more about why commuting is so hard when you are disabled and what the wider implications of this fact may be. 

The Difficulties of Commuting

Commuting in the U.K. takes place in different forms, but mainly it constitutes driving and using public transport. When it comes to driving, disabled people may face additional problems and barriers in the face of finding disabled parking, the cost of mobility modifications to cars, and any pain or discomfort that may occur while driving. When it comes to public transport, the problems can be more complex, with issues such as:

• The inaccessibility of public transport vessels, stations, and stops
• A limited number of accessible seats and spaces on existing services
• Stigma, discrimination, and harassment from other members of the general public
• Pain, sickness, and mental health symptoms experienced while travelling
• The risk of travelling alone in case of illness or accident
• Increased fatigue
• Increased risk of catching infections or sickness from other people, especially if immunocompromised or in a higher risk category for COVID-19

Overall, commuting as someone with a disability, whatever that disability might be, is more complicated and challenging than it is for those without a disability. This is something not to be underestimated or forgotten about when we are considering the conversation of work commutes. 

How New Approaches to Work Benefit Disabled Employees

Thanks largely to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are more flexible, hybrid, and home working options than ever before. Throughout the course of the pandemic, many people realised that the work of their employees could be done at home and many employees were much happier doing so. This was the case for a range of reasons, including cost-effectiveness and better time management. For disabled people, it was beneficial for a much more impactful range of reasons, including pain and symptom reduction and overall easier management of life and work with a disability. 

People working with a disability have more different things to consider throughout the day than non-disabled employees. For example, they may have a lot of medication to take that is much easier to take at home than in a work environment, especially if it is an injectable medication for something like diabetes. They may also have doctor’s appointments on a regular basis that are much easier to fit in during breaks if they are at home. They may have physical pain that decreases when they use equipment and aids that they can only use at home. There are lots of different ways in which being at home can make working with a disability far more accessible and sustainable. 

Not commuting is another one of these factors, as we have discussed above. Not commuting to work can save disabled people from a lot of pain, discomfort, and hassle throughout their work week. When you add this to the benefits we have discussed above, it is clear to see when different approaches to work should continue to be available for disabled people across the country. 

How to Find a Job with No Commuting Time

If you are a disabled person who wants to cut down or completely eliminate commuting from your schedule, you have two main options. The first is to ask your employer to consider home or hybrid working as a reasonable adjustment. If this is something possible, reasonable, and not disadvantageous to other colleagues, then your employer may be able to do this. It is more likely to be accepted as a reasonable adjustment if you can prove that needing to commute to work is a disadvantage to you compared to other non-disabled employees. 

To find out more about this, you can read our specific information on reasonable adjustments in the workplace. 

Secondly, you may consider finding a new job entirely if your employer is not willing to offer home, hybrid or flexible working as a disability-related reasonable adjustment. As this is not something that will always be possible in every job, you may have to consider a job change if you want to stop commuting to work. In this case, your best plan of action is to search for flexible or remote jobs from disability-friendly and accessible employers. These jobs will understand why you want to work from home and will do their best to accommodate your needs as a disabled employee. 

Luckily for you, we can tell you exactly where to find such jobs. 

Where to Find Accessible and Flexible Jobs

You can find all the support you need as a disabled job seeker to find the job you want right here at Careers with Disabilities. You can browse through our extensive resources of support and guidance, to learn about important topics including your rights at work and how to succeed in a job interview. There is also lots of disability-specific information and guidance on our Disability Advice Hub. 

On top of this support, we also have tools to help you find the best accessible job opportunity for you as a disabled job seeker. You can use our directory of accessible employers and disability-friendly job board to find the most inclusive and supportive jobs possible across the U.K. There are plenty of flexible, hybrid and remote roles on there for you to check out and find your commute-free dream job.

Everyone deserves a job that suits them to a tee. Let us help you find yours.