Jobs for Deaf People: A Welcoming Workplace
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Did you hire an employee with hearing loss or do you have open jobs for deaf people? Learn how to make them welcome in your workplace and what you need to do as an employer to help them function.
Nearly 10 million Americans live with some form of hearing impairment, while roughly 1 million Americans are completely deaf.
As an employer, you know that just because someone is unable to hear, does not mean that they lack other, incredibly valuable skills that can benefit your workplace, your , and others on your team.
Whether you have open positions that could qualify as excellent jobs for deaf people, or if you’ve recently hired a hearing-impaired employee?
We know you want to do what you can to ensure that you’ve created an accommodating workspace that allows a deaf employee to perform their job at the best possible level.
Especially if you are not deaf, it can be challenging to know what those with hearing difficulties require. This post is here to help.
We’ll also let you know more about some of the best jobs for the hearing impaired.
The Top Jobs for Deaf People
Before we speak more about how you can make your workspace a productive place for a person who is deaf or hard of hearing?
Let’s talk about some of the best jobs for deaf people out there today.
Of course, many people believe that the top jobs for deaf people are deaf-adjacent positions — like working in a school for the deaf or teaching sign language to parents and loved ones of a deaf person.
And while these are worthy positions, they are far from the only options available to a person who struggles with hearing loss.
Deaf people can do many of the same jobs as hearing people can. They can work as content writers, as a fine artist or a , become a web developer, or work as an accountant.
They can also perform data entry tasks, become social workers, and even work in audiology as well.
It’s important to keep in mind that some jobs for the deaf and hard of hearing will require a certain amount of speaking competency and skills.
This can include things like the ability to read lips and speak to those who are not hard of hearing.
A deaf person’s ability to perform these types of jobs well will depend entirely on their individual level of communication within these areas. The best person to evaluate and inform you about these types of abilities is the deaf person themselves.
How to Advertise a Position for Deaf Employees
There is no shortage of reasons why it’s a wise business decision to hire a deaf employee.
But sometimes, it can be tough to know how to find employees who are deaf, and how you can make them aware of the work opportunities that you have for them.
Depending on the responsibilities of the position, in most cases, you’ll likely be able to place your positions on a standard job board. When you write your description, you can state that you’re interested in hiring deaf or hard of hearing candidates.
You may also look to post your opportunities on more targeted websites specifically for deaf individuals.
This can include places like the Deaf Education website, the ASHA careers page, or places like Juju.com.
How to Accommodate a Deaf Person in the Workspace
So far in this post, we’ve covered things like how to find employees who are deaf/hard of hearing, as well as the top jobs for deaf people.
Now, let’s talk about what you can do to ensure that your workplace is properly equipped to allow a deaf person to do their job just as your other employees do.
Standard Accommodations
First, let’s discuss some of the most basic accommodations that you need to consider when you have a deaf employee.
You’ll likely need to make sure that you offer closed captioning as well as real-time captioning on any videos and televisions on in the office.
You can hire an ASL interpreter to be present in meetings, and you can also have them record in writing everything that was said in a meeting, so that the person who is hard of hearing can fully understand and keep up with the pace.
You should also make it a point to make company-wide announcements, policies, or just standard office updates in writing. Sending an email to your team will probably be more useful to them than shouting it across the office, anyway.
Additionally, you will need to make sure you have some sort of a visual emergency notification system in place.
Many hearing people forget that deaf people can’t hear a siren or a smoke alarm in the event . Ensure that you have a visual sign that your deaf employee can easily spot and recognize for these situations.
Finally, in some cases, you may need to switch up the layout of your office to better accommodate your hard of hearing employee. If they still have some hearing capabilities, put them as close as you can to a speaker, for example.
Additionally, you may need to purchase additional hearing aids so that the deaf employee always has an extra set on hand if needed.
Check out this site for information on how you can save money and ensure your team member has everything they need at the same time.
Train Your Team Members
Next, you’ll need to ensure that you’ve created a company-wide policy for the ways in which you can communicate with a deaf employee.
For example, ensure that your office has a telephone system that can provide closed captioning, and that they bring or wear any assistive listening devices required when communicating with a deaf employee.
Talk to your team members about the deaf person’s needs, preferences when it comes to how to communicate with people, and even etiquette. You need to ensure that everyone on your team works together to accommodate a deaf employee.
This can be as complicated as training your team on how deaf-friendly software works. It can also be as simple as asking the deaf person about a preferred hand gesture or signal that you can use to get their attention!
We also suggest that you encourage your team members to learn a few basic phrases in ASL.
First of all, it’s an awesome and fun bonding experience.
But mainly, it’s a great way to show a new team member with hearing challenges that they’re just as much a part of the team as everyone else is.
Understanding Reasonable Requests for Accommodations
Finally, as an employer, it’s essential that you understand what you are and are not required to do.
Be aware that, if an accommodation isn’t “reasonable,” then you usually won’t be mandated to follow or give it.
For example, an interpreter, a phone with captions, or an emergency notification system for a deaf person are reasonable.
However, if a deaf employee claims that the rules of conduct do not apply to them because they are deaf, this would obviously fall under unreasonable requests.
You should also know that you aren’t allowed to require a deaf team member to wear a hearing aid.
You don’t have to follow any accommodations that would be prohibitively expensive, or that would prevent other team members from the ability to do their own work.
We know that many employers are concerned about the potential expense of hiring a deaf person to come and work for them.
The good news?
There are far more employee-friendly and reasonable means of helping a deaf employee than you might think.
For example, there are tons of federal tax credits that you can take advantage of if you hire a dead employee. You may also be entitled to certain deductions. Lots of disability rights organization may be able to help you to accommodate a deaf person at little to no cost to you.
Reach out to them to learn more.
Jobs for Deaf People: Wrapping Things Up
We hope that this post has helped you to learn more about not only the different types of jobs for the hearing impaired, but also what you can do to make your workplace as accommodating as is both reasonable and possible.
Remember that, at the end of the day, it’s important to show the deaf employee the same respect and have the same expectations that you would of them as any other employee.
Looking for more information on how you can improve your business? If so, then check out our blog.
We also provide templates for forms that you can use for , as well as ensuring that their contract is created properly.
