Rights and responsibilities when working with a Disability Management Consultant

The ethical obligations of a Disability Management Consultant are taken very seriously. To give you a better understanding of those obligations, this article summarizes the codes that govern any registered professional providing rehabilitation services.

Who is the client?

In almost all cases, the client is the person with a disability (whether it be permanent or a short-term illness or injury) and the consultant’s primary concern is that person’s rights and well-being.

Getting a good night’s sleep?

Almost everyone experiences trouble sleeping at some point in their life, frequently due to external disruptions or temporary stress or anxiety.

Many people, however, have ongoing and significant difficulty getting enough sleep. Are you one of them? If you have not done so already, make sure you see a medical professional. Sleep disorders and disruptions can frequently be treated very effectively. You can read more about sleep disorders here: Sleep disorders   (note this link is provided for information only and not intended for diagnostic or treatment purposes).

Proper sleep is vital to our wellbeing; it affects and is affected by our overall general health. Here are some tips on getting a good night’s sleep!

Looking for a job in Ottawa or Toronto?

Check out Peters New Jobs! These folks issue a daily newsletter with new job listings for each city. The Ottawa version has recently been expanding to cover surrounding regions, including Gatineau, and the Toronto version covers the entire GTA.

Peter's New Jobs

They scan thousands of corporate websites on a daily basis, and only post links for new jobs, so it’s unlikely that you’ll see the same job listing repeated (unless it is posted by a recruiter, but that information is stored in a separate section of the newsletter).

There is a cost for it, but they do offer a free trial which will give you at least a week or two and lots of possibilities to review.

If you're looking for a job in one of these areas, make sure you include this in your tool kit!

Combining activity and volunteerism

Further to our recent post about adding activity to our lives, this recent article adds some ideas for activities that also help you give back and/or pay it forward!

Read the article here:  If not for yourself, exercise for others

Craig and Marc Kielburger are Canadian activists who founded the Free The Children organization and are very popular as speakers and columnists.

Duty to accommodate: knowing your rights

Whether you are an Employer or Employee, you should be aware of your rights when an issue arises that affects a person’s ability to perform their job. The Canadian Human Rights Commission provides guidelines in order to prevent possible discrimination.

Please note that as Disability Management Consultants, our role is to remain objective and we cannot advise or recommend a course of action to either party, but we can ensure that all parties are properly informed along the way.

The  Canadian Human Rights Commission provides helpful resources on this topic, including the following:

• A summary of the issues 
• A template for developing a workplace Accommodation Policy (PDF booklet) 
• Human Rights Maturity Model – Implementation Guide (PDF booklet); designed to help organizations develop and implement human rights practices and policies in the workplace  

Another excellent source of information, including descriptive examples, can be found here: Duty to Accommodate: A General Process For Managers

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Are you an inspired Employer?

On a general note, this article is a great read: What We Can Learn From The Man Who Runs The "World's Happiest Company", and here's a quote to take away:

Will your resume pass the test?

If you ever apply to large companies or respond to online or well-publicized job postings, how can you be sure your resume gets noticed?

Unfortunately, the answer is not encouraging – there are no guarantees that a human being will ever even see your application! There are a few reasons for this, including the fact that your resume may first undergo an automated screening process. (Another reason is unavoidable, as companies literally throw out unread resumes due to sheer volume!)

The good news:

If you are fortunate enough to have a great personal network and/or you are applying for jobs in smaller companies, your resume will likely land in the right place!

The information in this article is directed for those in very competitive job searches.

Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) systems, sometimes known as automated resume screeners, are being used more and more frequently. You can read about some of them here: ATS systems

To stay ahead (or keep up!) with the competition, it helps to understand the screening process.

Adding activity to your life

Does “exercise” just sound like a chore to you? We’ve all heard the message: exercise is good for you! It helps you sleep better, improves your mental outlook and the list of beneficial effects on physical health keeps growing.

The thing is, we don’t always love what’s good for us, and if you’ve been sedentary for a long time it can be very hard to get started.

Try thinking about being “active” instead! There are all sorts of ways to increase your activity level, and you can make it fun for yourself!