Stephane, let's start with your thoughts about inclusion in the workplace: what does this concept mean for you personally?  

“It’s all about respect. Inclusion should apply to everyone, everywhere. It’s a mindset and a vision. We’re all different and special; this is our strength. Any of us can become disabled, even temporarily, at any moment and that’s why we should all be concerned to build an inclusive working environment. Diversity is one of the keys to our success at Nokia, because by pushing our limits, in the end, we all perform better. In my local co-ordination role, my main aim is to engage every employee, even if they don’t currently feel directly connected to issues around disability.”

Is it sometimes difficult for you to maintain balance in the workplace as a disabled employee?

“I sometimes give more of myself than I’m supposed to because I want to show that I deserve my place in the company and that my disability doesn’t hinder my aptitude to work. This can create conflict between my professional and personal lives. I find myself acting as if everything were ‘normal’ and carry on working even when my symptoms should stop me. Right now, I’m learning to better protect myself. After all, if I don’t do that, how can I expect my colleagues to look after me?”

Stephane, do you think Nokia is a supportive place to work? 

“It’s always been there for me when I needed it. Over the years, I have tried different treatments, one of them was quite expensive but Nokia helped me to finance it which was unbelievable! Managers have always supported me too, listened to my needs and ensured that my workplace was safe.”

So, is there anything some of us take for granted which is a struggle for you? 

"One great example is that we all work in a multi-cultural environment hopping between time zones, with odd meeting times taken for granted and conference calls placed over lunch. If I miss lunch it really impacts my diabetes later in the day. I need to be firmer with regard to that. These things impact me a lot and have escalated over COVID with us all working from home.” 

Do you feel like you need to fight to get the support you need at work?

“Not at all! In over 10 years at Nokia I never felt that way. My advice to others if you have a disability that requires special equipment or attention is to just talk to your manager or if you’d prefer the Nokia medical service, social service or your local disabilities representative, like me. We are here for you, you’re not alone!”

How do friends or colleagues at work react to your special working arrangements?

"Mostly with compassion and understanding – we all need this support at times. I recall one of my colleagues who was pregnant asked for a special working arrangement because her nausea was so bad that she couldn’t do a conference call. What disables us at times can be as simple as that!”

So, in your experience has the world changed much over the course of his working life when it comes to inclusion and discrimination? 

“Yes, many barriers have come down, thanks to us talking about the issues, setting objectives, raising people’s awareness and training managers. This is true outside Nokia too: inclusion matters more within our supply chain and the French government has a lot of mechanisms in place to support people with special needs and facilitate their inclusion.”

What kind of effect can corporate leadership, management style and company values have on the career potential of someone with different needs?

“The culture of our company is of course very important too. We can be proud in Nokia to have a lot of support from the highest levels of the organization including HR, Legal and CSO functions. Diversity and inclusion are part of our DNA. Of course, there are always ways to improve and it’s extremely important to keep working on it, so we can reach the next level. For example, putting in place regular sharing sessions for people with disabilities going forward would help us all to better learn from each other’s experiences.”

How are you coping with the pandemic situation and do you have any advice for the rest of us at this tough time?

“We all need to take better care of ourselves. A stressful period like the one we’re living through can really impact my diabetes and being more sedentary can destabilize the careful physical and psychological balance I try to maintain. Achieving balance is easy to say, but not so easy to do but I’m working on it! We should all neither be shy nor afraid to speak up and ask for what we need to stay safe and happy at work at this difficult time.”

What keeps you motivated and inspired, Stephane? 

“I love to create, communicate, find solutions. I can always question myself, push my limits further, keep going and reach the goals I’ve set for myself. Sharing my experiences and hearing other people’s experiences energizes me too. Life is full of opportunities to grow. We have to take them or provoke them and own our future and happiness.”

A big thanks, Stephane, for sharing your experiences and wise thoughts on this important day.
 

Anderson, what does inclusion mean to you and why does it matter?

“Inclusion for me is about giving people the right tools and conditions to do their job well. Lots of people need some support, whether their disability is physical, hearing-based or something else entirely. Basically all my interactions these days are computer-based so, for example, I need an external monitor to enlarge the letters on my laptop screen so I can read them, scroll menus and do my job — and support to use the tool which controls the support tickets customers raise. Without this help, it would be very difficult for me to succeed in my role.”

Are there any daily activities some take for granted that you have to plan for?

 “Sure, people projecting on screen is a good example. Usually I can’t see, even if the text is really big. So I just ask the presenter to share their screen via a meeting tool like Teams, even if we’re face-to face. That way I can enlarge the text and we can work together. Simple fixes like this make me pretty independent, like asking for help to catch the right bus to work in the morning or in airports when traveling for work. The text on the information boards is always too small and far away, so I needed support with that when I used to fly lots to present to customers. I guess with the pandemic, that’s no longer such a challenge!” 

How well do the culture and values at Nokia support you with inclusivity? 

“I've worked here since 1995, when I was just a trainee. I had gone through university and other jobs never really thinking of myself as ‘different’. A few years ago, somebody kindly pointed out to me "Look Anderson, you have some special requirements that need supporting. Please let us help.” It had never even occurred to me that I could have some official special tools or working arrangements. Nokia has been very supportive, and I’ve honestly never encountered any bias, only encouragement. When I’ve risen up and had the competence to do a job, I’ve been promoted. My disability has felt irrelevant. It's really been quite an impressive experience for me.”

Are friends and colleagues good at adapting to your needs?

“Sure, everybody understands. I mean this current slogan of ‘not all disabilities being visible’ that is at the fore this year really fits my experience. I can walk without support and see some objects and people, so if people don't know me, they can think I’m selfish or arrogant because I might ignore them in the corridor. But once they know that I have this condition, everyone is supportive. For example when this pandemic took hold, my colleagues asked if I needed my monitor bringing home so I could work. It was nice they thought of that.”

Has the world changed much in your lifetime?

“Of course! I'm 46 now, when I was a child people used to make jokes about my visual limitations all the time. It’s human to have some curiosity about people who are different, but this was hard to deal with. When I tell my daughters how I used to be treated, they’re shocked. For this new generation, these attitudes are thankfully really not acceptable. These days, most companies don’t allow that kind of behavior either — in fact they encourage workplace diversity. This is true across Brazil. The government offers lower employment taxes and other beneficial regulations to stimulate employment for people with disabilities. It really helps to open doors. People should be hired dependent on their competency and whether they can do the job or not. Their disability should always be irrelevant.”

Do you have any advice for anyone facing similar challenges? 

“I had a mathematics professor who said something powerful. I’ve remembered it my whole life. I’d failed a coding exam because the letters in the test were really small, which made me panic. He told me ‘Never use your disability as an excuse for your lack of resilience and lack of effort to do things right.’ I’ve really taken that to heart and went on to study electronic engineering — not easy when you’re sight impaired. I’ve always had obstacles to manage and I’ve had to be resilient and creative to make things work.”

Any last words of advice?

“It’s important for us all to stay disciplined about work/life balance in this time of pandemic ¬– I do that by practicing yoga every morning and I swim 3 evenings a week. Beyond that it’s worth remembering that you never do things alone, right? Sometimes at college there were things I just physically couldn’t do like mounting systems so I’d work with people who could help and then I’d compensate, for example doing the theory and calculations part of the task. So we supported each other.”

That feels like a perfect note on which to end. Collaborating and working in association with each other is always important, whatever our abilities and skillsets. A huge thanks to you, Anderson, for sharing your story and we look forward to seeing your career at Nokia continue to flourish.