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Walking meetings are not accessible. If you have blind, deaf or wheelchair-bound colleagues, walking meetings are a wonderful way to exclude them from participa
by tomashubelbauer 7y ago
Walking meetings are not accessible. If you have blind, deaf or wheelchair-bound colleagues, walking meetings are a wonderful way to exclude them from participating equally in the workplace. That's of course unless you don't already "solve" this issue by just not hiring such folks.
I really wish people would think about this. And not only in terms of their current workplace demography, but also their prospective future employees.
- pmiller2 7y agoThe solution is obvious: you solve the issue by not having walking meetings with people who can't effectively participate in them. Why is that so hard?
- Trasmatta 7y agoAlso I don't see why a blind or wheelchair bound colleague couldn't participate in a walking meeting (if they wanted to and were comfortable with it).
- gowld 7y agoNo one is wheelchair-bound. Some people are wheelchair-enabled to enable mobility. https://www.newmobility.com/2015/09/dont-say-wheelchair-bound/ https://www.newmobility.com/2015/09/dont-say-wheelchair-boun...
- Traster 7y agoBecause it's not actually obvious who can effectively participate in them. Are you checking your meeting participants for suitable footwear, asthma, underlying allergies, chronic health conditions they'd rather not disclose to colleagues...
- pmiller2 7y agoThen, ask. Again, simple. Problem solved. Why do y'all want to make these things so hard? It's not that difficult to say "are you okay with a walking meeting?"
- Traster 7y agoOkay, and is your direct report going to tell you no? Or are they going to worry that they're going to miss out on the opportunity to actually influence their boss because they don't participate in this week's fad?
- pmiller2 7y agoYes, they are. Otherwise, US law and social convention place the responsibility for not giving a straight answer on the employee. At a certain point, adults employed by a company need to take some responsibility for themselves. Once you’ve asked if they’re okay participating in an activity, and they say yes, that threshold is reached.
- blast 7y agoYou can come up with an equivalent list of problems about going to offices.
- Robotbeat 7y agoSame for talking. Same for presenting visual information. The key is to be cognizant of the people on your team. It may be possible to take a "walk" in a wheelchair-accessible location or do some similar activity. The only way to address this is to ask your team and build a culture of trust on this issue.
- mcv 7y agoNot sure why parent is downvoted; this is a serious issue. The issue can of course be solved by only have walking meetings when all participants are okay with it, but that does not go well with CEOs insisting on this type of meeting. And anyone preferring walking meetings may end up having less meetings involving people who have trouble walking. At the same time, banning walking meetings is certainly not the solution; walking is clearly healthy for our bodies, and apparently also for our minds. Just be flexible about it and considerate about all participants.