September 4, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
I was made redundant from my most recent job earlier this year due to funding issues. I\u2019ve been applying for jobs full time since then<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t lack experience, skills, degrees, references or anything else. Without going into detail, I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019m taking every humanly possible action. However, I have multiple disabling health conditions and can only work entirely remotely. This should be fine, on paper. I do desk job work. I just need to do it at my desk instead of someone else\u2019s desk. It costs nothing to accommodate me.<\/strong><\/p> But it appears my needs are unacceptable, and I am facing a lot of discrimination when applying for jobs. I can\u2019t change that I am housebound. I don\u2019t get any form of disability supports, financial or otherwise. I don\u2019t have family; I must work, otherwise I will end up homeless<\/p>\n Any advice you have for facing discrimination in employment is welcome<\/p>\n I asked Dr Hongbo Guo, a lecturer and assistant professor in management at the University of Canberra, for his thoughts on your question. His first question mirrored my own thoughts: \u201cHow much more \u2018employable\u2019 can we reasonably ask someone to become?\u201d<\/p>\n I know from our correspondence that you possess all the capabilities, qualifications and professional assets that most employers explicitly desire according to their own job advertisements and public statements on \u201cvalues\u201d<\/p>\n And you\u2019ve gone above and beyond in approaching this career impasse from different angles. You\u2019re not picky; you don\u2019t limit yourself to a small, select category of \u201cperfect\u201d roles; you talk openly about your health conditions and the requirements they necessitate. You\u2019re someone who prizes honesty and integrity<\/p>\n Where does that leave people like you who genuinely cannot work anywhere but from home? Well, in a career wasteland, as you\u2019ve found out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n When you say you\u2019re \u201ctaking every humanly possible action\u201d, I don\u2019t doubt it for a moment. So why is this so hard?<\/p>\n Well, I don\u2019t know if it has anything to do with you or the way you demonstrate your suitability for roles<\/p>\n \u201cA field experiment conducted in the UK found that disclosing the use of a wheelchair* in job applications would reduce interview opportunities overall, and having stronger qualifications, technical skills and more positive references did not close the gap. So, very unfortunately, applicants cannot always overcome exclusion by demonstrating more merit,\u201d Guo told me<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, based on the reader\u2019s description alone, we cannot establish why particular employers rejected them; however, my point is that we should not assume that the missing ingredient is something they have failed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n This is, instead, the failure of a system. My sense is that it\u2019s a system that doesn\u2019t really understand \u2013 a cynical person might suggest it simply doesn\u2019t care about \u2013 the complexities and vagaries of chronic illness and disabling conditions. If it did, employers would see a candidate like you and think \u201cFantastic! We\u2019ll do what<\/a> we can to make sure this person can work with us.\u201d Instead, they seem to be baulking the moment your work-from-home requirement becomes clear.<\/p>\n And there seems to be little incentive to change employers\u2019 thinking in this regard. An expert on workplace law told me that, yes, \u201cthe discrimination provisions in the Fair Work Act that make \u2018adverse action\u2019 on the basis of disability discrimination actionable, do apply to prospective employees\u201d. But if you were to formally claim that you were denied a job due to your disabling conditions, even if an employer conceded you were a strong candidate, they would almost certainly make use of a defence in the Act known as \u201cinherent requirements\u201d. They would argue you weren\u2019t offered the job because at least some part of it required you to be in the office at least sometimes.<\/p>\n Where does that leave people like you who genuinely cannot work anywhere but from home? Well, in a career wasteland, as you\u2019ve found out. I think that\u2019s deeply unjust, especially because, as Guo said, \u201cthere is already heaps of evidence supporting the benefits of working from home, to both the organisation and its employees\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, we must acknowledge that not every role can be fully remote. However, assumptions about attendance and performance deserve testing, at least. What\u2019s more important, and probably more uncomfortable to employers, is the question of why an organisation\u2019s adaptability \u2013 their inclination to allow employees to work from home \u2013 is so urgent and essential when its continuity depends on it, (during COVID, for example) yet remains negotiable when a person\u2019s access to employment depends on it?\u201d<\/p>\n An uncomfortable question, maybe, but essential if we want to remedy this glaring unfairness. And if employers find it too inconvenient or easy to ignore, governments need to step in<\/p>\n * The questioner does not necessarily use a wheelchair<\/p>\n Send your questions through to Work Therapy by emailing jonathan@theinkbureau.com.au<\/strong><\/p>\n Get workplace news, advice and perspectives to help make your job work for you.Sign up for our weekly Thank God it\u2019s Monday newsletter<\/p>\n License this article<\/a><\/p>\n More:<\/p>\n Jonathan Rivett is a writer based in Melbourne. He’s written about workplace culture and careers for more than a decade.<\/p>\n \n Related:<\/strong> \n <a href="https:\/\/yoursite.com\/automation-africa\/" title="WhatsApp<\/a> Marketing Automation Africa: 6 Dangerous Mistakes Brands Make in Nigeria”> Join Justfine Infotech<\/strong> and build real digital skills in AI, automation, web development, digital marketing, office productivity, e-commerce, freelancing and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n Available Programmes:<\/strong> WhatsApp:<\/strong>\n
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