What
do you do if a worker is highly allergic to perfume and other strong scents?
Ask
the person raising the issue what he or she needs to be accommodated.
Do
some research and get an understanding of the problem. Have other organizations
dealt with this issue? Have human rights complaints been filed? Can the
needs of the person raising the issue be met, short
of undue hardship, for the company? Define the appropriate accommodation.
Discuss
the suggested accommodation with individual and get agreement.
Educate
management about the issue and get approval for the policy.
Introduce
the issue into workplace, first with supervisors, then the rest of staff.
Help people understand that accommodation is a threefold issue:
1. respect for the
individual
2. productivity for
the company
3. human rights of
an individual
Get
buy-in, or at least a willingness to go along, from staff. Attempt to introduce
the policy as a voluntary one, but make sure that everyone recognizes the
potential for enforcement if this fails.
Inform
others, such as consultants and service people who have business in your
offices of your new policy. If necessary (in the case of a "scent free"
policy) this may require asking visitors to adhere to the policy the next
time they visit. It may also mean moving a meeting a location as distant
as possible from the person with the problem.
Remind
staff of the policy through postings, articles (especially those illuminating
successes) in internal newsletters.
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