Supporting invisible conditions and disabilities in the PR workplace

Invisible conditions are complicated. I know that myself, having lived with Crohn’s for over 12 years. Pretty much my whole adult life it’s been there; sometimes behaving itself, and other times acting like all the trickiest clients rolled into one (this is a PR blog after all…). 

And invisible conditions affect people in very different ways. But those living with one, or a disability, often have something in common – a shared experience of discrimination and stigma. 

I’ve faced this first-hand: verbally abused for using an accessible toilet, broken up with because of my condition, told by a nurse I "didn’t look like someone with Crohn’s". As well as the guilt around cancelling plans during flare-ups. 

In fact, it’s been during those times when I’ve struggled the most (mentally and physically), that nobody was the wiser. After all, I looked well, and was still working. 

An estimated 16 million people in the UK have a disability – that’s 24% of the population, among them, your friends and family members. In the 2021 PRCA Census, 5% of those working in the industry said they were disabled. And yet representation in the PR industry remains shockingly low.

So how can we support our colleagues with long-term conditions or disabilities? Whether you’re an agency owner, a manager, or starting off in your PR career, I believe everyone can help positively change things, drawing parallels from the approaches we use in our client strategies. 

Education and awareness 

Effective PR strategies centre on raising awareness to drive understanding and action from audiences. It’s time we applied this same principle internally by educating our teams on disability. Even without a dedicated internal comms role, you can engage in and initiate awareness-building projects within your workplace’s culture. 

At PHA, we’ve committed a great deal of work to encourage conversation and raise awareness of a variety of ED&I topics, including through our ‘Open Conversations forums’ in which colleagues share their lived experiences. This could include living with ADHD, supporting family members with autism, or gendered stigma in healthcare settings. 

I’ve learnt lots by listening to my colleagues through different sessions and I am so grateful they share their experiences with us. We then ‘pass this forward’ through the work we carry out for our clients, becoming more empathetic and well-rounded communicators. 

The topic of health can understandably make some people uncomfortable out of fear of saying or doing the wrong thing. But as long as conversations take place with openness and respect, and people feel safe, it’s better to confront that discomfort than avoid the dialogue altogether.  

Policies and reasonable adjustments  

Rule 101: don’t assume what people need. There was a brilliant ad recently from the creative agency Small, who launched 'Assume I Can' for the Down’s syndrome charity, CoorDown in Italy, which encourages you to check your biases and assumptions. For while well-intentioned or coming from a place of genuine care, making assumptions can be patronising. 

I completely understand the balance can be hard – you don’t want to feel you’ve left people to figure it out by themselves. But in the fast-paced world of PR, with its travel requirements and extended working hours, preconceptions about certain conditions could also wrongly influence perceptions of capability.

Instead, transparency is created by clearly documented policies and processes, which let employees know exactly how to request the adjustments they need when they need them. In turn, it’s crucial that managers understand these policies and know to contact HR teams for additional guidance and support. 

So, if you’re starting from scratch and don’t currently have any disability-related policies, such as disability leave or flexible working, who can you consult with? As well as engaging meaningfully with those employees with lived experience, it’s also important to look at external sources such as disability charities, contacts in other agencies, and your wider PR networks. 

If you don’t have disabled employees currently working for you, you mightn’t feel this is relevant. But how do you know that for sure? As I said, I’ve looked well when all sorts of pretty awful things were going on inside of me.  

And importantly, discounting or delaying a policy change could mean you’re cutting yourself off from incredible talent. 

I may be biased but I strongly believe people with long-term conditions are a huge attribute to any workforce, particularly in PR. I am no doubt more empathetic and resilient due to my Crohn’s. 

And I’m sure everyone will agree that resilience is required in our industry; from journalist rejections and coverage challenges, to the bumps that arise during creative campaign planning – and just psyching yourself up for new business pitches! 

But don’t just take my word for it. As found in Accenture's Disability Inclusion Advantage report, companies that are disability inclusion champions see 28% higher revenue, 2x higher net income and are a quarter more likely to achieve better overall performance compared to competitors. 

Internal culture vs external profile

It’s important to recognise that not every employee with a disability or chronic condition will want to act as an advocate or be outspoken about their condition – especially when navigating a new diagnosis and the myriad of emotions that comes with this. 

However, whether they opt to share their story or not, people want to feel valued, respected, and empowered at work. 

If you promote disability inclusion externally through your client work but lack an authentic, supportive internal culture, that disconnect, and inauthenticity will inevitably show. Your employees’ lived experiences deserve to be treated with care.

Creating change through advocacy

While positive change can certainly be sparked by passionate individuals, achieving true disability inclusion needs to be backed up by company-wide communication and education. 

By making the most of your PR skills to prioritise disability inclusion through thoughtful policies, and by amplifying lived experiences, you can be part of creating the right environment for your teams, your client work, and your company culture. 

No one chooses to have a health condition. But you can choose to support your employees who do.   

Sophie Bassil is account director, healthcare, at The PHA Group.