It is not difficult to find who says ‘I find it beautiful to see people with Down syndrome or autism working in the cashier’ and, at the same time, lose patience in line because of longer service
We lived in an era in which the valorization of diversity became a flag on social networks. It is common to see public manifestations to support the inclusion of people with disabilities in work environments, especially in the functions of direct service to the public. However, there is a question that is rarely asked: is it really prepared to deal with respect and maturity, with professionals with disabilities?
It is not difficult to find who says “I think it’s beautiful to see people with or working in the cashier” Syndrome ” And at the same time, lose patience in line because of longer service. Many praise inclusion in discourse, but they cheer the face in practice. Ironize, jokes, complain about the tone of voice, body language, or the way the person expresses himself.
This contradictory behavior is not just uncomfortable. It reveals a social mismatch that endangers the effectiveness of inclusion policies. And it shows that the most sensitive link in this equation may be precisely the one that should be the simplest: consumer behavior.
Companies are doing their part. And the consumer?
The advance of the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market is real. Brazilian legislation imposes specific obligations and the regulatory environment itself pressures companies to adopt inclusive practices, especially within the ex -ex was logic. There are training, adaptations, investment in accessibility and structured actions to ensure dignity and protagonism to these professionals.
Retail and service sector have been protagonists of this movement. Supermarkets, pharmacies, fast food chains and customer service centers already have people with disabilities in direct contact with the public. They are often committed professionals, well-prepared and engaged in their duties.
But when interaction happens, customer posture can become the biggest challenge to their permanence in jobs. Capacitism reports, derogatory comments and lack of empathy are still common. Situations such as:
- A consumer who refuses to speak with a hearing impairment and requires a substitute.
- Impatient reactions to a slower explanation on the part of an intellectual disabled person.
- Customers who question “why they put this person to answer” when they realize some kind of difficulty in performing simple tasks.
These situations put in check not only the company’s inclusion policy, but the society’s own ability to live with diversity in a mature and citizen way.
Service is a space for social coexistence, and this requires preparation of both sides
It is common to treat consumer service as a unilateral expectation relationship. The customer requires agility, clarity, accuracy. And it is legitimate that service seeks efficiency. But when this model is blindly applied, it becomes excluding. It requires that this logic be resignified. It is not a matter of renouncing the quality of service, but of incorporating into the consumer experience the recognition that there are multiple ways to communicate, interact and meet. Customer reception remains a priority, but the reception to the professional who meets also needs to be part of the equation.
In this scenario, the legal legal role can play: alongside the areas of ESG, HR and Compliance, can help build inclusive care models that include not only the rights of people with disabilities as collaborators, but also the need to make the consumer public aware of their role in this relationship.
Strengthening an inclusive culture is not just an HR or ESG agenda. The corporate legal, by integrating its performance to governance and risk management, becomes a key piece in the consolidation of this culture. It can, for example, revise internal policies, guide consumer communication, mitigate potential reputational exhibitions and ensure that inclusion is not just a declared value, but a legally sustainable and protected practice.
It must be understood that consumer citizenship is not limited to the right to be well attended. It also involves the duty to respect the other. To understand that not every difficulty is incompetence. That not every operational error is reason for humiliation. And that true inclusion requires living with the different, even if it means leaving the perfect service script.
No empathy at the counter, there is no inclusion that resists
Companies can train, invest, adapt and hire. But no inclusion policy is sustained if, at the end, the consumer still treats the difference as a failure. Institutional goodwill needs to be accompanied by collective maturity. When inclusion is celebrated only in marketing campaigns, but disrespected in the cashier line, there is an ethical abyss that needs to be faced. And this confrontation requires a profound review of consumer posture as a social agent.
Including is not tolerating. It is recognizing value. It is to support the dignity of those who are there, performing legitimate and necessary work, even under different conditions than conventional ones. It is understanding that empathy, patience and respect are not favors. They are the expected minimum of those who say part of a fairer society.
Inclusion without consumer preparation can also generate silent risks to companies. Interpersonal conflicts, complaints in public canals, exhibitions on social networks and image crises are some of the possible consequences when inclusion is not accompanied by social education and strategic institutional communication.
The inclusion that begins in the company is only complete in the consumer’s eyes
Transformation begins in companies, but consolidates itself in everyday life. Legal can guide, management can implement, HR can form. But none of this will be enough if the consumer, as an active link in the service experience, keep acting with emotional and social unpreparedness.
What is the use of advocating inclusion on social networks if, in practice, it lacks empathy when it matters? Citizenship is built with attitudes. And respect for people with disabilities, as a professional, colleague or attendant, is one of the most urgent and necessary. Recognizing this value is essential not only for social justice, but also to build truly sustainable, human and coherent work environments to the commitments that companies assume before society.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the young Pan.
