Myth Busting Monday: “Remote work is a perk, not an accommodation.”
Myth:
Remote work is a perk, not an accommodation.
This belief has become more common in recent years, especially as some employers push for a return to physical offices. When remote work is framed as a convenience or a lifestyle preference, it becomes easy to categorize it as optional — something granted or revoked based on culture, morale, or managerial preference.
But for many disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent workers, remote work is not a bonus. It is what makes consistent employment possible.
Workplaces are structured environments. They require commuting, navigating physical spaces, tolerating sensory input, adhering to rigid schedules, and sustaining energy in ways that are often invisible to those who can do so without consequence. For people managing chronic illness, mobility limitations, immune suppression, neurological differences, or fluctuating capacity, those environmental demands can be as limiting as the job duties themselves.
Remote work removes some of those barriers. It reduces exposure risk. It allows for rest breaks without scrutiny. It minimizes sensory overload. It makes medical appointments and symptom management more compatible with ongoing employment. In many cases, it is not the work that is inaccessible — it is the structure around it.
When employers frame remote work as purely optional, the underlying message is that access is negotiable. That the default workplace design is neutral, and any deviation is a special benefit rather than a modification.
The result is predictable. Workers who could perform the core functions of their roles are pushed out — not because they lack skill or commitment, but because the environment is treated as fixed.
Calling remote work a perk obscures the difference between preference and access. For some employees, it may be a matter of convenience. For others, it is the condition that makes participation possible.
Understanding that distinction matters. It shifts the conversation from culture to structure — and from individual accommodation to workplace design.
