blakesprojects | Medical and Financial Difficulties Impacting Work: Hayden's Story

Hayden graduated from UTAS with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Theatre, in 2017. However, they soon found themselves facing medical and financial difficulty.

“Basically, theatre is the only industry where being discriminated against is part of the game and legal and being underpaid is part of the game and legal,” they explained to me. “Unless you’re part of a big production, you’re usually being paid for the project and not for the hours. It’s called an honorarium and it’s totally legal.”

Providing an example of their own experience, Hayden stated that they were paid $1750 for three months full work, which equated to just under two dollars an hour.

“Because it’s theatre, there’s a certain ‘type’ they’re looking for,” Hayden further explained regarding the discrimination. “A character might be a straight, white, cis man. There may be no reason why they are but that’s who they’re looking for and that’s who gets the role.”

Medical issues have also prevented Hayden from working.

“I’m in pain all the time,” Hayden says of their illness. “My pain levels vary, so sometimes I’m very capable and can achieve a lot, however (usually immediately after one of those days), I can ‘crash’ and will be bedridden for perhaps weeks on end.”

“Because of the unpredictability of my illness, it’s hard to make a schedule that works around it in a professional setting that involves a lot of other people, particularly theatre.” The illness also led to difficulties getting hired, as Hayden explained that, “If something goes wrong, they could potentially get sued. I’m a risk they don’t want to take.”

Hayden’s issue presents a very real problem for disabled individuals entering the workforce. Having had this experience themself, Hayden advises:

“Work for yourself. Starting a business is expensive, unfortunately, but if you’re driven enough and can find the funds, it can be a great way to work around limitations that are often systematically in place in the workforce.”

If starting your own business isn’t an option, Hayden recommends outsourcing:

“Outsourcing and delegation are great ways to be part of the clog without it messing with illness too much,” they said. “You don’t have to know how to carry a coffee to manage a café, for example.”

In their experience, Hayden has always found it easier with jobs that are distance or can be applied to via distance. “The easiest thing was anything I could do online, (such as) typing up documents, sending files, emailing correspondences, that sort of thing.”

Sometimes in-person interviews have even prevented Hayden from applying for the job. “I’ve cancelled interviews because I’ve been sick or in pain, which would have been easily solved with a Skype interview. Travelling always adds a complication,” they said. “Not to mention non-illness things such as having to find the location of the job interview (and) needing money to get there and back.”

Accessibility and discrimination have been the hardest things for Hayden when they were looking for jobs in the workforce (which they are currently not doing due to their illness). Detailing their experience, I was informed, “phone calls are difficult when one has anxiety. Transport is difficult when one is poor. Keeping jobs is hard when one has a shoddy immune system.”

Adding onto discrimination with what they referred to as an “interesting phenomenon,” when they were applying for jobs. Hayden explained, “Because the name on my resume is Hayden, they expect a man. Every time I walked in, their faces would drop and they would speed me through. It was ridiculous.”

Despite their current situation, no longer being in the workforce, and the difficulties they faced in theatre, Hayden has no regrets from their degree as they use the skills from their degree in everyday life, such as public speaking, organisation, cable management, design and art.

Hayden, however, believes that universities could be doing more to help students in their situation, especially those with a disability.

“Make knowledge and pathways more accessible by actively providing those things. They should be asking disabled students what they need, rather than assuming or guessing.”

So, while illnesses and disabilities can provide difficulty in gaining employment, there are pathways available. Some jobs can be done by distance, interviews conducted via Skype, and tasks can be outsourced or delegated. As Hayden advised, starting your own business or being your own boss can be a great way to work around limitations, and that will be their plan if/when they return.