This information is provided by the Disability Inclusion Network, a state employee business resource group.

The Employee Engagement Survey includes a question asking if I have a disability. How should I answer?

Could I have a disability?

If you have a condition that affects how you interact with and/or perceive your environment, or you have a history of such condition, you could be considered to have a disability. Some examples are:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Autoimmune Disorders (Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, HIV/AIDS)
• Blindness or low vision
• Cancer
• Cardiovascular/ Heart Disease
• Celiac Disease
• Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Diabetes
• Gastrointestinal Disorders (Crohn's Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
• Intellectual Disability
• Missing Limbs or Partially Missing Limbs
• Nervous System Conditions (Migraines, Parkinson’s disease, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis)
• Psychiatric Conditions (Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Personality Disorder, PTSD)

What are the benefits of reporting a disability?

• Reporting helps move towards a culture where employees feel comfortable sharing.
• Reporting helps communicate your agency’s focus on inclusion.
• Reporting promotes more access to accommodations. With the right accommodations, an employee with a disability can perform their job at an optimal level.
• Reporting can allow for the creation of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) within your agency to focus on helping and empowering those with disabilities excel in their jobs.
• Reporting helps agencies better recruit, retain, and offering training and promotional opportunities for those with disabilities.
• Reporting helps agencies create mentoring and coaching opportunities for those with disabilities.

Why should you report a disability on the 2022 Employee Engagement Survey?

• This data helps provide a deeper understanding of the different groups within the workforce.
• Reporting a disability on the engagement survey is not the same as disclosing a disability.
• Providing any of this information is voluntary, and information will be kept confidential to the extent legally possible. The following information collected in this survey is protected from public disclosure at the individual level: age, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity (RCW 49.60.040(26)), and status as a person with a disability. Get more information on how OFM will use the data and protect it.

Questions?

Contact the Disability Inclusion Network at din@ofm.wa.gov.