Situation: A woman with a severe developmental disability worked in an envelope manufacturing facility, operating a machine that stacked boxes. She needed to stack 20 boxes at a time, but could not keep a mental count past 10.

 

Solution: The employer installed a punch counter and trained the woman to include punching in her routine-tape, stack, punch; tape, stack, punch. As the woman's productivity soared, the employer realized that keeping count is difficult for many people and decided to install counters at other machines.

 

Situation: A secretary had a back impairment and experienced pain when reaching for things such as documents, files, and the phone receiver.

 

Solution: To reduce the need for reaching, she was provided an adjustable work station, a telephone headset, a copy holder, and a horizontal filing cabinet. For someone who doesn't necessarily have back problems, these corrections would still provide comfort as they cause less stress on the body.

 

Situation: An office manager who had been treated for stress and depression had difficulty concentrating when trying to complete assignments.

 

Solution: She was allowed to schedule blocks of time each week during which she could focus on tasks without interruption and modify her hours to allow more time for counseling and exercise. Her supervisor also arranged stress-management training for all employees and informed them about the company's employee assistance program.