I would be proactive. Much better to signal what’s up, before the office makes plans to move everyone around, so your needs can be taken into account, than to wait until it’s a fait accomplit and now you’re upsetting the apple cart.
Step outside your own shoes for a moment. Pretend you’re the person tasked with assigning office space. Wouldn’t you want to know of a constraint upfront so you could accommodate it? Or would you rather be blindsided after you’ve made plans (and gotten them approved) to move people, equipment, maybe ordered special furniture/cabinetry, put someone on retainer to move wiring, etc?
I think it is totally silly to go all open plan unless the have windows!! crazy. So that’s out.
Maybe they can have you share with someone else in an office? You should approach HR now. It takes a while to document it all. Better to get ahead of it.
“have mentioned a small piece of this to my direct manager - she was actually the one who suggested going to HR. I think the communication at my company is horrible - she knew nothing about the plan to move me until I told her.”
If you think the communication at the company is horrible, you aren’t helping it by not going to HR and informing them of a medical constraint you have. Be part of the solution
Medical issues must be kept private. Your manager asked you to go to HR so that clearly is the next step. Go to HR let them know the issue and that you are willing to get the appropriate medical notes.
I would be hesitant to share that your eye condition is progressive. Just give them enough information to accommodate your current situation.
A former employer interpreted ‘supervisor’ as anyone you reported to in any form. A group leader on a project was your supervisor and informed of your accommodations. I usually worked on five to six projects at time so there wasn’t much privacy about the process.
Ok, you have convinced me. I just emailed my eye doctor to see what he is willing to say. And I guess having further conversation with my manager and with the HR person is the next step. Thanks for the input.
How big is the company? Personally I wouldn’t think 2 seconds about accommodating an employee. My husband has hearing loss in his right ear and can’t wear a hearing aide in a crowd. He is very matter if fact about it.
Another point, it is a pain in the neck to hire and train and employee. Also an employee can file age discrimination starting at age 40. Being over 40 plus a disability and I say you’ve just bought yourself job stability.
I lost a window office once and will admit it hurt. (It was only a 15 foot move, but other things were going on in the company.) First, I would see what your doc will support, if he/she agrees the natural light and distance viewing is helpful, in your own case. (I have heard it is, as a muscle exercise.) Then you have both that backing and the option of what to present.
There are offices where some folks freely get into others’ business. Folks may “talk.” But you can choose to ignore as much of that as possible. Best wishes.
I am very private as well. But I really don’t see this as compelling gossip fodder. People gossip about a lot of things, but another coworker’s vision problems? For the gossiping type of person, that’s a big YAWN.
I hope you can resolve this. But I agree with others that it is indeed going to require some level of disclosure. I would definitely state in writing your wish for confidentiality. It sure wouldn’t hurt for the people in the know to be reminded that everyone is entitled to privacy regarding medical conditions.
Keep in my that the accommodation they give you might not be what you hope for. If the doctor says, for example, that you need to be able to change your focus by looking at something in the distance for five minutes per hour, the accommodation may be to allow you to get up from your desk and walk around for five minutes per hour.
A colleague of mine has a degenerative vision problem. It’s talked about with as much interest as somebody’s eye color, which is to say none at all. Sometimes he’ll need to catch a ride at night to a meeting, or somebody will usually proactively offer, so it’s beneficial for him that the team knows about his issue from that standpoint.
@nottelling - I agree. But that’s what my back-up plan was going to be anyway.
One of the things I like about my job is that I do not need to drive to other offices or at night. It’s an easy 15 minute drive on local roads from my home.
A lot of people who have longer commutes work from home one day a week. I was able to trade that for leaving at 4pm and working at home for an hour every day to attain an 8 hour day. It’s actually a pretty flexible workplace in some respects.
I don’t have much to add. If I were the company, I would want a doctor’s note so I could understand what the issue is and what can be done to accommodate. It is definitely an ADA issue, but you can’t keep it secret from the company if you want to go that route. Keeping you in that office might not be the accommodation that is offered. They may tell you that you can get up and go to the window every 45 minutes or something. I don’t think they are at all required by ADA or anything else to keep you in your window office. In this day and age, there are accommodations made for all sorts of things. I can’t imagine anyone at my company worrying about asking for a vision accommodation. Any retaliation against you (which I doubt there would be) would be illegal and actionable.
I hope this all works out, since it sounds like you are a very good employee and have a good work situation.
Thanks for your input. The only awkward thing about getting up periodically and going to a window for a quick break is that the only windows are in offices. So, If I lose my window office and am moved to an interior cubicle - I would literally have to walk into someone else’s office to look out the window!
In my company, they would definitely consider placing senior-level employees into double offices rather than moving one of them into a cubicle and keeping the rest of them as singles. Are there other offices that can accommodate two people?
There is no open office large enough for two to share and occupied by one - except for the one I am in. I am still hoping that I can share with whatever this new audio visual thing is, or that they have put the idea of using my current space for that new purpose on the back burner as it is a noisy area.
Honestly - the space situation is ridiculous. At my last employer - we all had cubicles - but they were arranged so that everyone had window access. Dividing space so that only perimeter offices have windows and there is no access to windows from any common space is nuts. Talk about being a second class citizen!