Without work no one can lead an independent life – whether living with a disability or not. Work is the center, the measure, the essence of today’s society; through work we judge everything and everyone.
We would not even think how many employees with disabilities are already working today in the primary labour market. Yet we would not think either what extra burdens they must bear in order to create the same quality, the same value, and to work in balance themselves, just like their colleagues without disabilities. We do not talk about this, we do not know about it, we often just look sideways at our colleague, our subordinate, we generate prejudices, we invent for ourselves what might be with them – instead of asking.
Generating conversations, breaking down preconceptions – this will be the continuation of our international Soul Mate project for our association! This international project dealing with this topic will close at the end of October 2025. Therefore now through several multiplier events we measured whether the results we have developed will be appropriate and usable. Both of our interactive workshops organized in September 2025 closed with unexpected results, which gave us new motivation and drive as well. Truly the topic is filling a gap, and here in Pécs there arose a very strong demand to continue, to talk about this, to broaden the circle.
The active and very committed participants of the workshops made it clear to us that as employers they would gladly employ people with disabilities (and rather than paying the prescribed penalty). For them it is obvious that disability should appear in the CV, they do not judge on that basis, but according to competences and skills.
It also became clear that there is a need for continuation, the participants want to carry forward this kind of cooperation.
They would like as soon as possible to apply the main result of the Soul Mate project, the 28 short video supports. These are about workplace problems presented by employees with disabilities and about their solutions. There was demand both for processing the videos together with us and for independent exploration.
From the Pécs-Baranya Chamber of Commerce and Industry we received an invitation to cooperate. A gate opens with this for companies and civil society organizations to get closer to each other, to broaden the circle, not only to be able to talk within our own bubble.
We believe in patient grassroots building, therefore we will generate similar conversations about the topic, and slowly involve more and more new participants. We need the municipality, the employment centre, the representatives of the press, and all those interested.
Employees with disabilities working in the primary labour market deserve respect and need support. Often minimal support, since most problems they are able to solve independently. Often a little attention. Or a few organizational ideas. Some mental support.
And what do we gain by employing employees with disabilities, by workplace acceptance of them? Valuable employees, often unexpected creativity, dedication, perseverance, commitment, and sensitivity.
We will continue, we will launch a circle for joint reflection. Join us too!
You can find us here: patakiv@peoplefirst.hu
Here stand some very deep, thought-provoking reflections among what was spoken by participants at our multiplier events:
“There are no foundations in the current society on which we can build social inclusion. The new generation, today’s young people in their twenties already think inclusively. Therefore, the most important thing is education in high schools, indeed even in primary schools and kindergartens.”
“Small and medium-sized enterprises make up the bulk of employers, not the multinationals. We must reach them, involve them, but for years we have not been able to initiate dialogue with them, nor can we hold sensitization trainings with them. This is now a gateway, that a participant from the Chamber appeared.”
“We are always talking in our own bubble. It is important to widen the circle of participants, for this topic to reach more and more people. Let’s begin a collective thinking process about how we can expand the circle.”
“What counts as positive discrimination? Everyone sees it differently, it is completely individual what for one person is already harmful positive discrimination, for another is simply the promotion of an accessible environment. This is equally true for the employee with a disability and for the colleagues.”
“For a long time I did not write into my CV what my situation was. A few years ago however, I decided to write at the very beginning of the CV that I am a person with a disability and I live with opportunities. Whichever employer still reads through my skills in the CV after that, and decides to invite me, employ me, there I can be sure to find an atmosphere where I can work.”
“It is a sign of openness and honesty if I write into the CV that I am a person with a disability.”
“As an employer it is clear to me that the selection is competence-based, therefore I take it naturally if the applicant writes into the CV that they are a person with a disability, I will not choose based on that.”
“I know a Hungarian organization where they employ a manager responsible for well-being, who is specifically responsible for the workplace situation of people with disabilities. It can be a good example for others.”
“It is important that we ourselves also do something to be accepted at a workplace. Let us not expect help from the outside, but let self-knowledge be the starting point, then follow self-empowerment.”
“I was twice hired for a non-existent position, through connections. I had to figure out what my job should even be. This was positive discrimination, which I experienced as very strange.”
“We must break down prejudices in people’s minds, and for this politics and decision-makers must also act.”
