70 Hours of Travel, Six Days and One Powerful Message: Workplace Adjustments Work
My recent journey to Australia and New Zealand was brief, intense and extremely worthwhile.
With many personal and business commitments, and my eyesight still particularly vulnerable following recent eye surgery, I questioned whether such a demanding trip was sensible. Long-haul travel and a compressed schedule presented a genuine physical challenge.
I explored several routes that would have allowed more time to rest my eyes between flights. In the end, tight deadlines meant travelling from the UK via a short Middle East stopover to Melbourne, then on to Auckland, back to Melbourne and finally home.
The itinerary involved nearly 70 hours in transit within six days, alongside three full days of conferences and meetings. I returned to the UK tired but, I am pleased to say, in good working order and, to my own and everyone else’s surprise, without the dreaded jet lag.
Why the Journey Mattered
The primary reason for making the trip was an invitation from my good friend Phil Turner, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Disability Employers’ Network (NZDEN), to speak at the sixth annual Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference (DIPC) 2026 in Auckland.
Phil’s insight, experience and personal commitment to disability inclusion convinced me that this was a journey worth making. He has played a significant role in advancing the disability employment agenda in New Zealand and has a clear vision of what still needs to be achieved.
The conference brought together an exceptional group of people united by a shared commitment to improving the working lives of disabled and neurodivergent people. What stood out was not only the energy in the room, but also the focus on practical action and measurable outcomes.
I was invited to share Microlink’s experience of designing and delivering workplace adjustment programmes for major employers in the UK and internationally. That experience draws on decades of operational practice, data, research and lived experience, both my own and that of the many organisations and individuals we have worked with.
Over nearly four decades, I have had the privilege of contributing to many of the developments that have shaped the UK’s disability landscape. This has included Microlink’s work with employers, alongside involvement in initiatives such as Access to Work, Disabled Students’ Allowance and Disability Confident, as well as numerous government, employer and disability working groups.
These experiences have provided a unique perspective on what works, what does not and, perhaps most importantly, why even well-intentioned programmes sometimes fail to achieve their full potential.
The Evidence for Workplace Adjustments
The central theme of my presentation was simple:
Supporting disabled employees is not simply a compliance obligation. It is a significant and often overlooked opportunity to improve organisational performance.
A successful workplace adjustment programme should focus on identifying and removing barriers. It should not unnecessarily medicalise individuals or force employees to repeatedly justify why they require support.
Our evidence consistently shows that the cost of doing nothing is far greater than the cost of providing effective early intervention. Equally important is the fact that many of the benefits are tangible and immediate rather than long-term aspirations.
Well-designed workplace adjustment programmes can:
- Reduce absenteeism and presenteeism
- Improve productivity and team cohesion
- Increase retention and employee engagement
- Reduce recruitment and replacement costs
- Prevent avoidable occupational health escalation
- Reduce legal, regulatory and reputational risks
- Improve customer service
- Build a more confident and inclusive workplace culture
Across the programmes we have designed and supported, our accumulated data indicates that employers can achieve returns of up to £10 for every £1 invested when direct and avoidable employment costs are taken into account.
That is why workplace adjustments should not be viewed as a small service operating at the margins of HR or occupational health. They should be recognised as a core component of any serious disability inclusion, workforce productivity and talent retention strategy.
From Compliance to Competitive Advantage
In many countries, legal compliance remains the primary driver for workplace adjustments. Compliance matters, but it should be the starting point rather than the limit of an employer’s ambition.
A workplace adjustment service does far more than help a disabled employee remain in work, important though that outcome is. It reduces barriers across the workforce and enables people to contribute at their best.
This is especially relevant at a time when organisations face economic uncertainty, skills shortages and increasing questions about how artificial intelligence will reshape jobs and working practices.
Employers can no longer afford to overlook talented people because a workplace barrier has been left unaddressed. Organisations that create supportive and responsive working environments will be better positioned to attract and retain talent, maintain high-quality customer service and remain resilient in a changing market.
Learning from Australia and New Zealand
Microlink is continuing to expand internationally. Following developments in India, North America, Europe and the Middle East, I wanted to see first-hand the progress being made in Australia and New Zealand and explore how our knowledge and infrastructure might support employers in both countries.
I found two nations that are ambitious, open to learning and committed to improvement. Both countries have an opportunity to accelerate progress by building on decades of evidence and experience from mature disability employment programmes in the UK, while adapting those lessons to their own systems and priorities.
New Zealand
In Auckland, I had the pleasure of meeting the Hon Louise Upston, New Zealand’s Minister for Disability Issues and Minister for Social Development and Employment.
Minister Upston clearly possesses both the passion and the authority to improve opportunities for disabled and disadvantaged people. We had an excellent discussion about the maturity of disability practice in the UK and how New Zealand could benefit from the lessons already learned elsewhere.
I offered to share our collective experience and evidence in support of New Zealand’s Disability Strategy 2026-2030, and I look forward to continuing those conversations.
Australia
I was also delighted to spend time with my dear friend and fellow practitioner Amy Whalley, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Disability Network.
Amy has had an impressive first year leading the organisation, and our ambitions are closely aligned. We discussed how Australian employers, including multinational organisations already working with Microlink in other markets, could benefit from our experience in delivering effective workplace adjustment programmes.
I have gratefully accepted an invitation to return for the Network’s conference in May and hope to build further on these discussions.
Following Auckland, I returned to Melbourne to meet Peter Bacon, Chief Executive Officer of Disability Employment Australia.
Our conversation focused on youth unemployment and the importance of supporting disabled learners as they transition from education into employment.
Too many talented young people lose confidence or fall out of the employment pathway during this critical period. Support needs to be available before they enter the workplace, not only after challenges emerge.
Peter and I will continue these discussions, and I hope they lead to meaningful collaboration.
Turning Shared Ambition into Action
This journey reinforced my belief that disability inclusion has entered an important new phase.
The moral and legal cases have long been established. What we now need to communicate with equal clarity is the operational and financial case.
The question is no longer whether employers can afford to provide effective workplace adjustments. Increasingly, the evidence shows that they cannot afford not to.
My thanks go to Phil Turner and the entire NZDEN team for their generous invitation and hospitality, and to everyone I met in Auckland and Melbourne for their openness, energy and commitment.
Seventy hours of travel was a demanding price to pay. Yet for the conversations started, the relationships strengthened and the opportunities that lie ahead, it was absolutely worth it.
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