Remote working - accessing lab data from home
This was in a pre-COVID context, where remote working was less widely practiced.
As a post-doc, a disabled academic with a track record of producing groundbreaking and internationally significant science was able to continue working on a grant-funded project, despite the inflexibility of the funder only providing for two weeks of absence after a significant surgical operation. Remote access to the database of chemical information from the project meant that the academic could continue working on data analysis and interpretation from home. The data which was needed for analysis could be uploaded securely by the lab and then accessed at home. This was in a pre-COVID context, where remote working was less widely practiced. Having a laboratory set up at home made a huge difference, because it meant the academic could do the work they needed to and rest when needed.
Had this remote data access not been possible, the academic would effectively have been penalised for being disabled and needing to have an operation. Other funders do provide greater flexibility and show more inclusivity and awareness in terms of having policies which recognise and accommodate disabled academics and instances of medical leave. However, there is still an impression of organisations wanting to appear to be inclusive, rather than implementing disability-inclusion in practice.
Adjustments which recognise the need for time to rest and the differences in how long things may take people who have brain damage remain a significant challenge.
I was part of a grant as a postdoc, but I was only allowed 2 weeks off regardless that I had had an operation 鈥� obviously you can鈥檛 recover in that time. To satisfy the funder, fortunately, the database of chemical information could be uploaded securely and I could access that from home. Since much of my work was going through the data interpretation and data analysis, I could manage that... With my own laboratory at home, it was simply a way of being able to do the work I needed to do given the inflexibility in the laboratory environment at that time. That made a huge difference for me because it meant I could rest when I needed to and work when I needed to.