Job Coaching the Disabled

Do you know what fast food joints, five-star restaurants, intercity schools, Ivy League universities, hospitals, assisted living facilities and corporate campuses all have in common? They all need dishwashers.

If a movie wants to show a character has a low status job often it will be a cashier or a waitress (or sometimes, hilariously, a nurse). But those jobs are higher on the totem pole than dishwashers.

Did you ever know anyone who wanted to be a dishwasher when they grew up? Of course you didn't. Who would aspire to this station? So who works these jobs? There are two main groups. The first is people who don't speak English. The second is people with disabilities I know this because I used to work as a job coach for people with disabilities.

The basics of being a job coach was as follows. A person with disabilities who was interested in employment, but needed assistance, would be referred to the non-profit organization I worked for. After a job developer found them a suitable position I would then meet them on the first day of work--at this point they would become my "client." I would help my client through orientation and go through training with them. As work proper started I would make sure they were adhering to what they learned in training and give advice. As my client became comfortable on the job I would start to fade (being present less often) -- the time frame for this could vary a lot depending on the individual; could be days or months. Ideally we would want to get to a place where I would just pop in maybe once or twice a month to check in.

"Person with disabilities" covers a wide range of capacities and I worked with a specific segment of that population (there is some debate on whether its better to say "disabled person" or "person with a disability"). There are people with disabilities who work as doctors -- these were not my clients. There are disabled individuals who need care 24/7 to help with basics like eating, using the toilet and generally staying alive -- these were also not my clients. Rather I worked with people who had the physical and mental capacity to do a simple job, but found it overwhelming.

Perhaps it sounds like I am being negative about dishwashers above, but that is not my intent. A dishwasher is a bit like air -- nobody gives them any notice till they are absent. 50 years ago many of my clients might have spent their lives in institutions. Nowdays they are out in the world, and nothing says you are part of a community like a job.

Frequently managers were nervous about starting work with a disabled person and asked me what they should do differently. My standard answer was "Treat them like everyone else, just have a bit more patience." It was really important to hold my clients to the same standards as any other employees, otherwise resentments would start to build. Occasionally I'd have a manager would be excessively nice to one of my clients at the start of a job. The boss would let everything go and not hold them to account. Guess what? That client wouldn't come close to meeting standards. Then the manager who had once been so nice would get fed up and my client could very abruptly find themselves out of a job.

Another question that came up sometimes was "What is their disability?" My answer to that would have several parts. First, it was illegal for me to say, it's a HIPPA violation. Secondly, you wouldn't want me telling other people about your health issues. Third, you should consider the person rather than the label. Situations like this were not uncommon: client A takes to the job quickly, gets promoted from dishwasher to cook, becomes employee of the month. The chef asks me if I can get him more clients like that. Meanwhile client B is always on their phone, coming in late and generally getting on everyone's nerves. On paper clients A and B have the same diagnosis.

While dishwasher was the most common position, it was far from the only one. Other jobs I coached included grocery store bagger, factory assembly line, construction clean up, janitor, stocker, park maintenance, bus boy, server, and hotel event set up. My clients were spread out over three counties. If they worked evenings and weekends, then I had to also.

When I explained my job in social situations a common reaction was "Oh, that most be so rewarding!" To which I generally responded "Sometimes." It was nice to see someone who had initially struggled go on to succeed at a job. More often it was tedious. You stand around waiting for your client to make a mistake so you can correct them. You need to make sure your client isn't playing on their phone while on the job, but it isn't always easy to set a good example.

Acquaintances tell you that you're a good person for working as a job coach, but it doesn't always feel that way. Sometimes your client is doing physical labor. All of their co-workers are doing physical labor. As the job coach though, you're just standing there. You may also be the only white person in the room. If anyone commented on my apparent uselessness I'd quip "Living the dream."

While some of my clients thought I was rich, the pay was embarrassingly low. It was one of those positions that society deems worthy of praise, but that's it. Considering all these factors; driving all over town at odd hours to do mind numbing work for mediocre wages; it's not surprising that turnover for job coaches is high. Lasting 5 years made a grizzled veteran.

I still think job coaching is a worthy calling though. Some people just need a bit of extra help to join the labor force. A net gain for society results. But we have to take job coaching seriously (that is, pay for it) if we expect it do be done by capable people who will stay around.

Give dishwashers a raise while we're at it. Try cleaning burnt pans of lasagna on an industrial scale and then tell me that only deserves $9 an hour.