Starting a career and applying for roles in tech or any industry can seem daunting for any student, graduate, immigrant or career switcher. But what if you also experience an invisible disability? How can you do positive disclosure and ask for the support you need? 

Not all disabilities are visible, and sometimes they affect someone more than at other times. Matt Oldfield, Capability Manager, Technology and Catherine Harrison, Health, Safety & Wellbeing - Continuous Improvement Lead, tell us how they support employees with invisible disabilities at BNZ. 

We asked Matt and Catherine how they support employees to work flexibly and what that looks like.

What does flexible working mean to BNZ?

At BNZ we embrace flexible working as we know it’s important for colleague wellbeing and achieving our BNZ goals. We offer a variety of options as below, and tailored solutions where needed:

• Working from home

• Working from a different location within NZ, or a different office

• Flexible start/finish times

• 4-day working week

• Nine-day fortnights

We also have a Working from Home assessment that all colleagues are required to complete every 6 months if they work from home at all (this is around 2500 of our colleagues). This is a very holistic assessment where we ensure the colleague has the appropriate equipment, ask if any wellbeing support is required, and investigate the safety of their home workspace. The questions all differ depending on how many days the colleague is working from home.

How does BNZ support its employees with invisible illnesses or disabilities? What accommodations have you made, and what does this look like?

BNZ supports their colleagues’ mental well-being in a variety of ways. We have a mandatory People Leader mental health training module which helps leaders understand what they should be looking out for in their people, and ensures our leaders are equipped for conversations regarding the mental health of their people. Our colleagues can also confidentially report concerns to the Wellbeing Team, if they would like some additional support, or they can confidentially reach out to our EAP provider, Benestar, 24/7.

We also have a Neurodiversity @ BNZ community where we share resources and collaborate with colleagues internally on topical discussions around invisible illnesses or disabilities, including neurodivergence. 

How do BNZ employees raise a flexible working request and become set up for working from home effectively?

In BNZ Technology, we have a matrix leadership model whereby every developer, tester, BA etc. has a Product Owner to direct their work in the delivery team, an Engineering Lead for technical upskilling and support, and a People Leader who’s dedicated to personal development, coaching, performance, and wellbeing. 

With this model, People Leaders supporting their people is their primary focus, meaning people have a safe environment to request flexible working and raise any other sensitive matters around illness. We aim to accommodate any individual's particular needs and strive to provide an amazing employee experience, where the person can flourish inside and outside of work. 

Our philosophy is centred around our people bringing their whole self to work, and being able to share and pursue their unique passions. Our approach to flexible/hybrid working supports this, as well as volunteer days being available to our people to give back to the community in areas they are passionate about.

What advice would you give to someone who wishes to disclose a disability or illness to their employer?

Find someone you can trust - whether it’s your manager, your manager’s manager, your organisation’s Wellbeing team, or an employee assistance program. Everyone is different and no one will judge. By speaking out about what you need, you’ll enjoy your work more and feel better both mentally and physically.

Thank you Matt and Catherine, for your advice and insights, and congratulations to BNZ for winning the Best ICT Team Culture & Inclusion at the CIO Awards.