Imagine you are in a Teams call in a poorly echoed room, watching a conversation unfold in front of you. Live captioning lags ten seconds behind, and suddenly you are asked a question you did not hear or read in real time. You find yourself needing to ask your team to either repeat themselves or wait for the captions to catch up.
Now, picture being on a phone call with someone where you can’t read the other person's lips, left to guess the words they’ve said, piecing together a puzzle to understand their request. These scenarios show the daily challenges faced by individuals living with hearing loss, highlighting just some of the barriers that Deaf and hard of hearing people may face in the workplace.
Amber Gavin, People and Culture Coordinator at Asuria and a proud member of the Deaf and hard of hearing community, reflects on her personal experiences during the National Week of Deaf People, celebrated from September 23rd to 29th.
Having lived with hearing loss since birth, Amber understands how challenging it can be if one doesn't seek support or discuss struggles with friends, team members and colleagues. At Asuria, she feels comfortable pausing conversations to let others know she can’t hear them or request necessary adjustments to be made.
"You don’t want to inconvenience anyone or disrupt the flow of conversation, but one shouldn’t feel like this," Amber emphasises. “We use the opportunity to make a real difference, to educate our peers and to bridge the gap from ‘guessing’ in conversation, to cultivating an environment where every voice is heard. When you work in an inclusive environment like we have in Asuria, it gets easier to be able to spread awareness, have open conversations and ask for additional support. I do that all the time.”
Amber advises individuals from the Deaf and hard of hearing community to feel comfortable in voicing their needs at work like she does by:
- Disclosing that she's hard of hearing during introductions
- Asking people if they can repeat themselves
- Letting colleagues know when live captioning isn’t catching up during Teams meetings
- Communicating the specific support, she needs
- Encouraging colleagues to ensure their lips are visible for lip reading, when necessary
Discussing the significance of this week, Amber shared, “I hope this message inspires everyone to understand what it’s like to be hard of hearing and how individuals from this community can be supported. Everyone deserves access to a diverse and inclusive workplace, and Asuria truly embodies this value in its work culture. At Asuria, we are always encouraging our team members to find new or adaptable ways to communicate, and not to hesitate to ask for extra support when needed.”
National Week of Deaf People provides individuals and organisations the chance to show their support and allyship for those in the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Asuria places great importance on being a voice amongst this support, beginning with supporting our own staff. This support can take various forms, such as:
- Captioning for virtual Teams meetings
- Inclusive visual cues for safety systems e.g. alarms
- Adequate lighting and clear visual access in office spaces
Recently Asuria launched Impact for Inclusion, an initiative inviting our partners to pledge to provide diverse and inclusive workplaces, creating sustainable and meaningful employment opportunities for diverse and underrepresented communities. To learn more about Asuria’s Impact for Inclusion initiative, click here.
Thank you, Amber, for sharing your story with us during the National Week of Deaf People and for shining a light on your experiences.
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