A Wheelie Good Chat
A Wheelie Good Chat is hosted by me, Sam Cole. I dive into real-life experiences of living with a physical disability.
With raw honesty and a touch of humour, I explore everything from daily challenges to societal assumptions, shining a light on the stories that often go unheard.
Each episode features open conversations and reflections that aim to break barriers, challenge the norm and inspire more inclusive thinking, one chat at a time.
Follow along on Instagram: @awheeliegoodchat | @sam.bamalama
A Wheelie Good Chat
39. Redesigning Roles Around Strengths
What if the problem isn’t you, but the job description you’re trying to squeeze into? In this episode, I open up about what happens when we stop forcing ourselves to fit rigid roles and start shaping work around our strengths instead. Job carving has completely changed the way I see my own career, and I think it could change yours too.
I share the honest side of navigating work with a disability, from naming support needs to dealing with stigma, and why it can be so exhausting trying to “prove” yourself in systems that were never designed with you in mind. But I also talk about the moment things clicked for me and how reframing my strengths helped me imagine a role I could actually thrive in.
This episode is about more than job design. It is about confidence, self-worth and giving yourself permission to ask for work that aligns with who you are. You will walk away with practical ideas, but also a reminder that your value is not defined by a checklist in a job ad. If you have ever felt like you are the wrong shape for the role in front of you, this might be the perspective shift you need.
Thanks so much for listening to A Wheelie Good Chat! Your support means the world.
Follow along on Instagram: @awheeliegoodchat | @sam.bamalama
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I wanna start this episode of A Wheelie Good Chat by acknowledging that I'm recording on Whadjuk Noongar country. I pay my respects to the elders past, present, and emerging. Always was. Always will be Aboriginal land. I'm your host, Sam Cole, and this is A Wheelie Good Chat where I get real about life with a disability and everything in between. Yes, even that not so PG stuff. I live with a condition called dystonia and I started these podcasts to break stigma. And share the things we as a society don't talk enough about. Hey everyone. Thanks for joining me wherever you're listening from today, I hope you are going well. So getting straight into today's episode, we're gonna dive into something that I think more people need to talk about, and that's job carving. If you're thinking, Sam, what the hell is job carving? Don't worry because by the end of this episode you'll be like, oh my God, every workplace needs this. And I think about this quite often, to be honest with you. So this topic came up because I've been navigating my own work journey recently, and I had this moment where I realised I would absolutely thrive in a role if it actually aligned with my strength. Not just a generic job description where someone wrote 10 years ago. So let's get into what job carving is, why it matters, and how it could actually make work better for everyone. Okay, so job carving basically means creating or reshaping a role around a person's strength, needs and capacity instead of trying to squeeze them into a job description that doesn't fit. It like workplaces, usually hand you this neat little box and go here, fit perfectly into this. But job carving says, okay, why don't we just change the box? You might look like shifting admin tasks to the person who actually enjoys organising or creating a part-time wellbeing role for someone who's great with people. Or even another example, making a hybrid position that uses someone's strength instead of their weaknesses. I guess an important thing about job carving is it's flexible, it's strength based, and it just makes sense. Job carving is huge for people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, mental health issues, or anyone who doesn't fit their standard nine to five. And to put this into perspective, in Australia, only about 48% of those people age 15 to 64 with disabilities are employed. And that's very sad numbers, and that's compared with about 80% of people without disabilities. That stat comes from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and honestly, it says everything. The gap is massive, and I think as a listener you can see or understand the like it's just really obvious. People aren't being as inclusive. People say they're inclusive, but they're really not. And it's not just because people with disabilities can't work, it's because workplaces often aren't flexible enough to make space for them and put them in the too hard basket. Job carving doesn't just help individuals. It benefits workplaces too. When people work within their strength, they're happier, they stay longer, and they actually do their job better. There's less burnout, fewer sick days, and way less chaos. No one wants to be burnt out. No one wants to go to work and feel like their job's chaos. It should be evenly spread amongst other employees. So this isn't about lowering expectations, it's about realigning them. So both the person and the business, can it succeed. But let's talk real life for a sec. I've looked at job positions and thought if I could just remove this part or add this part, I would absolutely smash it. and I've also had the realisation where. Reflecting on my strength, and that is in connection, communicating, working with people. So many jobs are very much one size fits all. We can't make small adjustments. So from speaking from my own experience with a physical disability, it's really daunting having to go for a job, explain limitations and what support is required within the workplace. It's really exhausting to have to go through that and, and that's why job carving is such a fantastic idea and concept. It just takes away the one size fits all. Job carving is about that open mind approach in a way. Lately I have been thinking about roles that genuinely fit me, not roles I have to, you know, squeeze myself into and, try and make myself sound good in the cover letter to try and, I guess, oversee the issue, I don't wanna say issue, but the big elephant in the room of my physical limitations in the fact that I am in a wheelchair, the fact that I do have support with me. When I do write a cover letter, I try and I guess, boost up my experience and my insight a little bit more to make it a bit more. I guess compensate for my physical limitations, if that makes sense. I guess we kind of all do that. We kind of focus on our, strength rather than our weaknesses. you know, if there's something really significant within a job that I can't do, it makes me less inclined to apply for it. So the idea of carving out a position that focuses on wellbeing, culture, and communication, honestly just makes sense based on who I am and what I'm good at. There's always parts of jobs that aren't our favourite part, of the job, but if that's a limitation to why someone's not employing that individual because of that area, or is it the limitation for that person to apply for that job because they've been knocked back time after time and you know, it does definitely does take a toll being knocked back. no. Well, from my experience, I've never been told it's because of my physical limitations. But, you know, within me, I definitely feel that as though it is because of my physical limitations that I haven't been able to get a social work job. And that's the thing I really wanna emphasise. Job carving isn't cheating the system at all. It's working with your brain, your body, and your strength, not against them. It is using it in a positive way. And I think it's also important to discuss what job carving isn't. Job carving is not giving someone easy jobs. Is not taking away everything hard, not charity. It is not accommodating someone just to tick a box. And when I say a box, it's you know, that box of disability, a box of, different culture. I'm not saying all companies but companies like to see, as, if they have a person with a disability, one person with different culture, they're being inclusive and, they're a good company if they have at least one person with some sort of difference. But, it is really sad if a company thinks that that's all they need to do to be an inclusive company that's really quite sad, to be completely honest. So it is about clarity and purpose. It's about recognising that people shine in different ways and it's about creating roles that bring out those strengths than hiding them away. So how does job carving actually play out in a workplace? It can look like reviewing tasks across a team and redistributing them. I guess, like I mentioned before about getting. People to do what they enjoy doing. So reviewing tasks across the team and redistributing them like I said, someone might be more of an admin person, someone might be more of a numbers person. So working to the strength is better for everyone and for the organisation. and probably a lot more productive in the long term. And looking at what people naturally gravitate towards. Creating a role from tasks that need doing, but don't fit neatly anywhere, and by this I kind of mean, you know, when there's those jobs where everyone in the workplace has to kind of contribute to an area, if that's putting data in regularly to a database. Or even writing a proposal and saying, here's where I add value. Here's what I can take on. Let's shape something around this. For a proposal, it can be, if you're already in a workplace or if you've seen a job on a website and there's just areas that, physically you might not be able to do, you could a hundred percent write a proposal and put it forth to the workplace or whoever it may be. And then, you know, see what they come back with. Yeah, so sometimes workplace trial it for a few months. Sometimes it evolves on its own, but it always starts with a conversation. So getting that conversation rolling is massive within the workplace. So conversations is just so important. And I guess the reality of job carving is a lot of people are scared to bring this up because, they don't wanna seem high maintenance or needy and taking, basically taking the piss of the organisation, they wanna be taken seriously, but a lot of employers assume it's going to be a whole lot of drama to carve out a role, but the truth is job carving is already happening informally everywhere. There's always that one person doing the tech stuff or the social stuff, or the organising, even if it's not in their job description, they just naturally gravitate towards it. Like I said before. Job carving just makes it intentional and it removes the pressure from people to juggle tasks they're not built for. So the other big barrier is stigma, especially if the disability or access needs are part of the conversation. For me, the conversation around, myself having a support within the workplace that is embarrassing. It's embarrassing because I feel as though I need to justify why I need to have a support with me. And of course the workplace needs to know who's going to be, in the workplace facility, which is so understandable. But for me, having to explain it and having to justify it is really, like I said, embarrassing and that is very much a stigma. Well, I feel as though it's, putting a bit of a red flag up against my name because I have an extra person with me, which it shouldn't be like that at all. And that's how I feel when I go for interviews. I'm justifying why, well, I'm sorry. I'm trying to justify why I need that person. I kind of always say things like, they won't be in the way. They don't take up much space. Just to try and like under sell 'em almost in a way. But, once again, it's my reality, having someone with me, while in the workplace, who knows? Maybe in five years I won't need someone with me. But for right now, you know, I will require someone with me and someone nearby. Job carving shouldn't be awkward. It should be a normal, modern way of building teams and getting the best out of a workplace. And so when workplaces embrace job carving everything gets better. You know, there's higher staff retention, better for everyone, better morale, less confusion, and people who actually love their jobs because they're focusing on what they enjoy doing and what they're good at. A carve role isn't less than. It's more efficient. More sustainable, and just smarter for all people involved. If you are listening and thinking, okay, Sam, I wanna do this, but how do I get started? Here are some tips that are a good starting point. So write down your strengths, the things you do naturally and well. And then write down your limits, not as negatives, but as boundaries, which are so important in any job. Look at tasks in a workplace that align with your strengths, or if you're applying for a job, look at the job description that align with your strengths and build a one page proposal. Frame everything around the benefits for the workplace or business and how job carving will benefit the workplace. So it is really important to remember you are not asking for favours, you are offering clarity and stability. And honestly, I believe that everyone deserves to have clarity and stability within the work place. And I guess, from my experience, you know, the idea of writing a proposal, sending it to someone is quite a daunting prospect. I guess the fact that, why can't I just go and apply for a job and someone hire me due to my qualifications and, and my experience? But the reality is, is that it's not that easy, unfortunately. and being able to create a role or create some ideas to send to someone, is quite empowering because, you know, not only are you focusing on your strength and what you wanna give to the, the workplace. And those strengths are, you know, a great true reflect in any situation. Writing a proposal would be a very daunting thing, and then sending it off and not too sure how they're gonna respond to it or if they're gonna respond at all. But having that open conversation is quite a powerful thing. And it reminds you that, that there are some people who are willing to accommodate, who are willing to adjust. Adjust is properly wrong. are willing to job carve, shall we say, to make the experience a lot better here. And if you are a manager and you are listening and you're wondering what you can do to support someone, ask your staff what they need to thrive. Look at which task people naturally gravitate towards and stop assuming everyone has to work the same way to be valuable. I think that one's really important. There might be three people doing the same role. You know, it had the same title, but, I'm sure within those three positions, each of them brings something different to the workplace. And it's really important to remember that your best people might just be sitting in the wrong shape job. So that's job carving an approach that I genuinely think could reshape workplaces in the best possible way. If you ever felt like the job description doesn't match who you are, maybe it's not you, maybe the job just needs a little carving. So I truly hope this episode has given you some insight into the job carving. I would love to hear your own experiences with job carving and even if it has made you rethink your structure within your workplace. yeah, That's all for now. Chat soon everyone. And that's it for today's ride. Thanks for rolling with me. Make sure you're following A Wheelie Good Chat on Instagram for all the latest updates. And if you're loving the chat, don't forget to follow the podcast on your favoruite streaming platform. Stay safe, everyone. I'll catch you next time.
