Finding Wellbeing Through the Lens of Disability

April 7th marks World Health Day, an annual celebration initiated by the United Nations that draws attention to specific health topics for people all over the world. One of the central themes is discovering a path toward greater well-being.  In this new digital age, where technology is penetrating all aspects of our lives creating both a sense of excitement and euphoria while simultaneously fostering a level of anxiety that leaves people troubled for what’s to come.  One of the most glaring examples of this is in the evolution of the world of work. As futurists ponder what will be and the panacea that technology will provide, we must spend as much time looking at people as we do their relationships with a changing technological environment. New questions about how to adopt more effective strategies of well-being become essential in defining a modern workplace culture while exploring a more supportive mindset toward a greater level of health, welfare, and dare I say, happiness.

 In the discovery of this modern sensibility of wellbeing, companies need to peel away at the surface and begin to dissect potential challenges when it comes to the rise of AI, the disadvantages of remote work, and the fusion between work/life balance that can cause even greater confusion.  Business leadership needs to be cognizant of the psychological needs and the role that wellbeing plays as a critical strategy across the organization. So why look toward the lived experience of disability as a potential remedy, and a blueprint toward improved wellbeing? As the workforce pool becomes more diverse and as technology offers greater accessibility to a larger workforce along with the ubiquity of different ways of working, business leaders are presented with a set of challenges that need a new array of possibilities. The lived experience of disability offers a fresh mindset, and by the varying range of disabilities, there is a wellspring of knowledge from different perspectives offering a suite of options that leadership can draw from.

 Too often we sanitize this new digital reality as the great panacea. While I believe these changes offer an extraordinary reality that has enormous benefits for millions, it is also important to explore all facets of this everchanging knowledge and how to best find stability between technology and their human counterparts. What the lived experience of disability offers is a great insight into reconciling the possibility. Technology has had a long history with the disability narrative that can be traced back as far as the Greeks, and communities in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The 19th and 20th Centuries certainly brought about new advances from orthotics and prosthetics to wheelchairs and other various accouterments that became part of the daily lives of persons with disabilities. This blend of technology with the human element has been a mainstay of the disability experience and the emergence of assistive technology to help navigate a more sophisticated world only proves the point that this balance of coexistence can be a reality. Any organizations that engage in broader hiring practices for persons with disabilities must also rethink their perspective and see this as a valuable opportunity for growth in the realm of well-being. Drawing upon the lived experience of disability is not just about finding ways to overcome obstacles, but recognizes the intersection of social, technological, and psychological elements that can greatly impact corporate culture in the 21st Century.