{"id":9090,"date":"2016-04-10T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-10T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moonrider7.com\/en\/?p=9090"},"modified":"2016-05-26T20:00:16","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T00:00:16","slug":"awareness-determines-the-fate-of-employment-for-people-with-disabilities-starbucks-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moonrider7.com\/en\/2016\/04\/10\/awareness-determines-the-fate-of-employment-for-people-with-disabilities-starbucks-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Awareness Determines the Fate of Employment for People with Disabilities ~Starbucks Part 3~"},"content":{"rendered":"

*** Part 2 is here <\/a>***<\/p>\n

In my first report of visiting Starbucks,<\/a> I wrote about a Deaf Starbucks partner who gave his perspective in the Starbucks Access Alliance (SAA) meeting. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, I later got a chance talk with him one on one. <\/span><\/p>\n

His name is Adam Novsam, Business Analyst and a member of SAA. <\/span><\/p>\n

He has worked for Starbucks since 2000 and shared his valuable experiences with me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"MoonRider7_Starbucks_AdamNovsam\"
Front from left: Adam Novsam and Mizuki. Back from left: Marthalee Galeota (interviewee of part 2) and Michelle Collyer (who arranged my visit!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adam was born Deaf. He went to a school where the student body was Deaf and everyone signed. <\/span><\/p>\n

Classes were like a typical school \u2013 math, reading, etc. \u2013 the students, however, had the benefits of sharing the same language, American Sign Language (ASL), and culture. <\/span><\/p>\n

Their school community was tight-knit and included Deaf and hearing people. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a child, that was the whole world Adam knew. <\/span><\/p>\n

As he grew older, though, his parents wanted to expose Adam to a mainstream public school. <\/span><\/p>\n

There he learned a lot of the \u201cdifferences\u201d between Deaf and hearing cultures. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Adam said, <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cFor example, if a Deaf person meets somebody who [he] hasn\u2019t seen for a long time, it would be a common place for Deaf person to tell another Deaf person \u2018My goodness, you gain some weight!\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n

That is a pretty regular conversation you would have in the Deaf community. <\/span><\/p>\n

Deaf people are visual and literal communicators, so they will say it when they see it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, when you are in hearing culture, you do not tell a hearing person that he or she gained weight. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is very different. <\/span><\/p>\n

Deaf community is a shared collective whereas hearing culture is more independent. <\/span><\/p>\n

They have two very different approaches of life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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In the US, after they finished college, many Deaf people choose to become ASL teachers or work for Deaf organizations, often because they feel more comfortable staying within the Deaf community. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, Adam wanted something different. <\/span><\/p>\n

He had a goal to succeed as a general businessman and a desire to know about the corporate world. <\/span><\/p>\n

But it was not an easy transition. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Before Adam joined Starbucks, he worked with some other companies. <\/span><\/p>\n

At those companies, he often experienced difficulties building good communication with hearing people. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was tough and he faced oppression, too. <\/span><\/p>\n

Those companies didn\u2019t really evaluate Adam\u2019s performance equally and did not promote Adam for the contributions he made.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Adam said, <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cA lot of higher-ups are white, privileged, and male, and they look at you and think, \u2018You need to stay here,\u201d indicating a low-ranking position, \u201cYou can keep doing what you\u2019ve been doing all along.\u2019 I got frustrated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\"ASL-gif_starbucks\"
“Starbucks” in ASL. Adam is sharing some more coffee-related ASL words @https:\/\/news.starbucks.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Adam started working at Starbucks, very fortunately he had a supervisor who was hard of hearing, and he helped Adam develop his potential. <\/span><\/p>\n

The supervisor lost his hearing entirely, overnight, while working with Adam. <\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, the supervisor knew what it was like to be in both hearing and Deaf cultures. <\/span><\/p>\n

When Adam got confused by the communication with hearing people, he would ask his supervisor \u201cWhy do they do this?\u201d and the supervisor would explain to Adam.<\/span><\/p>\n

To Adam, his supervisor was the one who helped him gain a better understanding of the hearing world. <\/span><\/p>\n

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As Marthalee explained in the report part 2<\/a>, Starbucks has put a lot of effort to improve the working environment for people with disabilities. <\/span><\/p>\n

Adam proves that to me. <\/span><\/p>\n

He grew up in Deaf culture and now he works primarily with hearing people, sharing knowledge and ideas with his colleagues while working at Starbucks, a truly global company.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Adam says, <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cFor me, I feel very fortunate that I was able to get my feet in the door at Starbucks. <\/span><\/p>\n

Also I was able to build my reputation with this company. <\/span><\/p>\n

Very valuable. I cannot imagine quitting here and going to some other companies. <\/span><\/p>\n

I would have to start all over again at the bottom.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\"MoonRider7_Memo\"<\/p>\n

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In this interview, I also shared my former colleague who was deaf in Tokyo. <\/span><\/p>\n

She and I were hired as the first few disabled employees in the company in the year. <\/span><\/p>\n

The company didn\u2019t have any experiences to accommodate employees with disabilities at the time, and their resource was limited as it is a middle size company. <\/span><\/p>\n

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As a Moon Rider, a wheelchair user, accommodation for me is easy as long as the office building is accessible. <\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t need any other accommodation. But for the deaf colleague, it was not easy for her and the company. <\/span><\/p>\n

She couldn\u2019t get an interpreter in meetings. <\/span><\/p>\n

Her coworker always took notes for her, but it was not the best accommodation because the coworker was also a member of meetings. <\/span><\/p>\n

Her coworker needed to pay attention to what people talking in meetings, take notes for her, and give opinions or comments, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"MoonRider7_Phone\"<\/p>\n

Moreover, in the company, the most common way to contact among employees was giving a call. <\/span><\/p>\n

Although Human Resource announced to all employees about the deaf colleague after getting her permission, many of the employees forgot and kept giving a call to her. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, she couldn\u2019t pick up, and needed to ask other coworkers to help her. <\/span><\/p>\n

She got stressed day by day and left the company after 2 years. <\/span><\/p>\n

She was one of the closest colleague and the only colleague with disability who I knew. <\/span><\/p>\n

I felt very sad when she quit. 1 year later, I also left the company and worked with 2 public companies afterwards, but I found no deaf workers in the 2 companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Even if more people with disabilities want to work equally with everyone else, they cannot stay and work longer if companies lack for understanding and accommodations for people with disabilities. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, if companies have good understanding and accommodations, not only people with disabilities but also every employees can and want to stay and work longer for the companies. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a place where people from different backgrounds get together, there would be many interesting ideas and valuable thoughts. <\/span><\/p>\n

That influences company\u2019s business and customers like it did to Starbucks.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"MoonRider7_Mizuki_SanDiego\"\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Japan, we have a quota (*1) system for hiring people with disabilities. <\/span><\/p>\n

Because of that, most of employers care and try to hire people with disabilities. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is a good start. Doors are at least<\/span> open for people with disabilities. (*2)<\/span><\/p>\n

Second step will take place\u00a0<\/span>inside of the doors: awareness and readiness for accommodations. <\/span><\/p>\n

If employers put effort hard and long enough to inside of the company, employees would change gradually and good applicants with disabilities and without disabilities would join and stay longer. <\/span><\/p>\n

The second step will make a huge difference and the time is now!<\/span><\/p>\n

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To be continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

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*1. I have mentioned about the quota system Japan government adopted here at:<\/span><\/p>\n

Three Blocks Slowing Down Independent Livings of People with Disabilities ~Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco Part 2~<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n