People living with disabilities or disorders such as autism are bearing the brunt of a tightening job market and a drop in available vacancies. Losing financial independence and autonomy, these workers experience frustrations and a drop in self-esteem, despite their abilities and skills.
Published at 00:31
Updated at 5:00 a.m.
“It’s as if companies are more open to reasonable accommodations for autistic people when there is a labor shortage. But when they have more choices, those accommodations become unreasonable…”
Julie Carignan doesn’t mince words when describing the situation experienced by her 19-year-old son, Charles-Étienne, who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a slight intellectual disability. A graduate of a special program offered by his region’s school service centre, the young man had no difficulty finding a job in the spring of 2023.
“He went to deliver CVs and quickly, he had several calls and interviews,” says the mother. “We saw that he was in a context of possibilities, where he was received, supported, accompanied. He was proud to have found a job himself.”
The shock of reality
After having suffered a reduction in the number of working hours on his schedule, Charles-Étienne lost his job. And since then, despite the 70 CVs distributed, it’s been a desert crossing.
“It’s the same guy, with one more year of professional experience,” says M.me Carignan, who works as an organizational psychologist and human resources consultant. It’s as if there was a gap between the intentions of some companies, which claim to be in favor of equity, diversity and inclusion measures, and reality. The reality test, as a society, we are failing right now.”
Julie Carignan emphasizes that she is not looking for charity. In truth, the situation worries her, even concerns her.
“I see my son getting discouraged and disorganized. He’s having a hard time,” she confides. “And I wonder: what message are we sending as a society? Does this mean that we have a single process, that it’s standard, and that people who deviate from the norm have to fit into a mold? Does our openness to difference fluctuate based on the shortage of jobs?”
Slow-down
If we compare the number of positions to be filled in the first quarter of 2024 to that of last year, it has fallen by 27% in Quebec, according to the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
For Laurence Marin, general director of the Regroupement des organismes spécialisé pour l’emploi des personnes handicapées (ROSEPH), there is no doubt that this situation is particularly damaging to workers who live with a disability.
I see it’s more difficult now than it was two or three years ago. One of the factors is the caution of employers. They seem to be in a context where they’re waiting to see what the economic context will be. We’re moving at a slow pace.
Laurence Marin, general director of the Group of specialized organizations for the employment of people with disabilities
Christine Larrivée is a communications and liaison officer for the Service de formation, d’intégration et de maintien à l’emploi pour personnes handicapées (SDEM Semo), an employment assistance organization for people with disabilities in Montérégie. She also notes that the noose is tightening for people with disabilities.
“Employers are overworked and overwhelmed, they have less time to supervise and support our clientele,” she notes. “It’s more difficult to approach employers right now. On the retail and restaurant side, I’m also seeing a reduction in hours.”
Recent data on the employment of autistic people in the country compiled by the Canadian Autism Alliance shows that a third of them are unemployed… while the unemployment rate for the general population is around 6% in the country.
Faithful and reliable
Does prejudice harm the candidacy of autistic people? Mme Larrivée believes that there is still “fear and ignorance” among some employers… while “workers with ASD are known to be faithful, loyal, hardworking and committed.”
“There is still this preconceived idea that people with disabilities are not competent,” deplores M.me Marin. So when everything is set up to meet their needs, these workers will redouble their efforts to make sure everything goes well.
Reliable, determined and perfectionists, autistic people have a reputation for being formidable workers. For 35 years, Martin Prévost, director of support at NeuroPlus, has been helping neuroatypical people integrate the job market. “These are people whose brains work differently,” he says. “They don’t process information in the same way. They perceive their environment differently. And they come up with different solutions.”
Government assistance
Financial assistance from the provincial government, for example to compensate for a loss of productivity if the person with a disability cannot perform all the tasks related to their job, is a facilitator. But that is not all: support, at the time of hiring and afterwards, is crucial.
“The learning curve is different,” recalls Christine Larrivée, from SDEM Semo, which offers free support. “Yes, it can be a little longer at the beginning, but I am convinced that the perfect match exists.”
