Dell's four-legged employee
Modern technologies practically saved us from the need to use working dogs in our work. You can’t do without them unless in law enforcement agencies and at customs, but in the usual office of four-legged friends you will not meet. And why are they there? However, a dog named Coach appears daily at Dell Headquarters in Round Rock, Texas. And it's not about the chance or inattention of the guard: The coach comes to the Dell office to work.
This story did not begin with the most pleasant event. At the age of 25, Dale Duty, a lawyer at Dell, was diagnosed with ankylosing spondyloarthritis, or Bechterew's disease. This is a serious hereditary disease affecting the spine and joints. In Dale, it led to the accretion of two cervical vertebrae, due to which his head became almost motionless.
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One can only imagine what inconvenience causes illness in everyday life. Dale admits that he cannot raise his head and, accordingly, does not see what is happening above, above him. Periodically, this leads to injuries and bruises: it is easy to miss, for example, a hanging branch, if it is not possible to raise the head. In order to avoid dangerous situations, Dale started a specially trained dog. She helps him to bypass obstacles and not crash into low objects.
Assistant dogs are widely used throughout the world, although we can meet them only with a blind person (so-called guide dogs). Not every dog can become an assistant: it requires to be fit, to be trained and trained, and to have a good temper. Most often the helpers of people with disabilities are retrievers and German shepherds, although they are of other breeds (Kouch, for example, a boxer). In the United States, the rights and capabilities of assistant dogs are described in detail in the Disabled Americans Act (ADA).
Dale has been working for Dell for 15 years, and during that time has become literally an indispensable employee. He heads the company's patent office and works in a team that maintains a patent database. According to the ADA, the company is not obligated to allow employees with disabilities to take assistant dogs with them, but the Dell leadership decided to support a valuable employee and allowed them to bring a four-legged assistant to the office. Coach became part of the Dell team and instantly fell in love with the rest of the staff. Every morning he brought Dale to work and did not leave him alone for a minute. While the lawyer was working, Coach was nearby in his office. True, the company's security service periodically changed, and Dale had to re-explain each time to the harsh "guards" that this was not just a dog, but an assistant.
This lasted until one of the Dell engineers advised Dale to make his personal badge for Coach. The lawyer liked this idea and soon the dog got his own “pass”. It contains a photo of a dog, its position (assistant dog) and a nickname. True, the badge cannot be called a full-fledged throughput document, since its number is the same as that of Dale (and, most likely, Coach is not listed in the staff list). But a dog with a badge on his neck produces a real sensation in the office and beyond. The owner takes his assistant even to meet with investors and meetings with developers, and all relate to his presence with understanding.
Dale admits that with the advent of Coach, he began to feel more confident, and moving up the career ladder was not long in coming. By the way, this confirms the core principle of the work of the Dell group for researching staff capabilities. This group is looking for ways to develop the abilities of the company's employees, including those with disabilities.
The story of Dale and Coach perfectly illustrates the principle of an open attitude towards people with special needs and the willingness to meet what is being practiced in Dell.
This story did not begin with the most pleasant event. At the age of 25, Dale Duty, a lawyer at Dell, was diagnosed with ankylosing spondyloarthritis, or Bechterew's disease. This is a serious hereditary disease affecting the spine and joints. In Dale, it led to the accretion of two cervical vertebrae, due to which his head became almost motionless.
')
One can only imagine what inconvenience causes illness in everyday life. Dale admits that he cannot raise his head and, accordingly, does not see what is happening above, above him. Periodically, this leads to injuries and bruises: it is easy to miss, for example, a hanging branch, if it is not possible to raise the head. In order to avoid dangerous situations, Dale started a specially trained dog. She helps him to bypass obstacles and not crash into low objects.
Assistant dogs are widely used throughout the world, although we can meet them only with a blind person (so-called guide dogs). Not every dog can become an assistant: it requires to be fit, to be trained and trained, and to have a good temper. Most often the helpers of people with disabilities are retrievers and German shepherds, although they are of other breeds (Kouch, for example, a boxer). In the United States, the rights and capabilities of assistant dogs are described in detail in the Disabled Americans Act (ADA).
Dale has been working for Dell for 15 years, and during that time has become literally an indispensable employee. He heads the company's patent office and works in a team that maintains a patent database. According to the ADA, the company is not obligated to allow employees with disabilities to take assistant dogs with them, but the Dell leadership decided to support a valuable employee and allowed them to bring a four-legged assistant to the office. Coach became part of the Dell team and instantly fell in love with the rest of the staff. Every morning he brought Dale to work and did not leave him alone for a minute. While the lawyer was working, Coach was nearby in his office. True, the company's security service periodically changed, and Dale had to re-explain each time to the harsh "guards" that this was not just a dog, but an assistant.
This lasted until one of the Dell engineers advised Dale to make his personal badge for Coach. The lawyer liked this idea and soon the dog got his own “pass”. It contains a photo of a dog, its position (assistant dog) and a nickname. True, the badge cannot be called a full-fledged throughput document, since its number is the same as that of Dale (and, most likely, Coach is not listed in the staff list). But a dog with a badge on his neck produces a real sensation in the office and beyond. The owner takes his assistant even to meet with investors and meetings with developers, and all relate to his presence with understanding.
Dale admits that with the advent of Coach, he began to feel more confident, and moving up the career ladder was not long in coming. By the way, this confirms the core principle of the work of the Dell group for researching staff capabilities. This group is looking for ways to develop the abilities of the company's employees, including those with disabilities.
The story of Dale and Coach perfectly illustrates the principle of an open attitude towards people with special needs and the willingness to meet what is being practiced in Dell.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/238995/
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