According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four Americans has a disability. It also may surprise you to know that 30 percent of workers have a disability, but only 21 percent of them report it to their employers.
Creating inclusive work environments for people of all abilities is easier than many think. Below are some things to consider:
What is a Disability?
A disability is a physical or other impairment that makes interacting with the world more difficult. The impairment—or significant difference or loss of function—can limit mobility, communication, vision, hearing, mental functioning and even social relationships. People can be born with disabilities or acquire them, and disabilities can be simple or complex.
It is important to remember not every disability is obvious. In fact, most people with disabilities have what are referred to as “invisible” disabilities that cannot immediately be seen when interacting with them. This includes chronic health conditions, as well as neurological, cognitive and behavioral conditions.
The Benefits of Being Inclusive
“Our family members, our colleagues, our customers, business owners, to name a few, might have a type of disability,” says Claudia Schabel, NAWBO member and Founder, President and CEO of Schabel Solutions. Schabel, who provides custom Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consulting services, continues, “Understanding the relationship between the way people function and how they participate in society, while ensuring that everybody has equitable opportunities to participate in every aspect of life to the best of their abilities (and aspirations) is at the core of disability inclusion.”
Schabel also says, “Disability inclusion is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do for your business and community.” Indeed, the business case for ability inclusivity is extensive. First, being intentional about accessibility signals to everyone—your current employees, your customers and prospective clients and staff—they are welcome. When people are welcome, they are more likely to give you their talent and business.
In addition, creating environments where individuals feel fully valued and included boosts productivity and engagement. Uniformity of thought and viewpoint is stagnating. Fostering alternative perspectives, whether borne from neurodivergence, disability or simply differing learned experiences—fosters innovation.
Finally, of course, not creating accessible and inclusive spaces opens you up to legal risk. And, refusing to ensure employees’ disabilities are respected and accommodated can be costly.
What are My Legal Responsibilities?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment and other areas. In short, disability cannot disqualify someone from employment and you have a responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to make your workplace accessible to otherwise qualified employees.
With accommodations, many impairments can become non-issues for workers. This can include physical changes to a workspace, such as a computer, desk or chair. It can also include flexibility with scheduling, changes to tasks or allowances for support items, devices or technology. Examples of these include breaks to take medication or manage a condition, allowing extra time for comprehension or sensory devices like headphones or tactile items.
The ADA also protects the private medical information of all employees. This means there are limited times when you are allowed to ask about an employee’s or prospective employee’s disability or health. In general, any inquiries should be limited to job function, and you need to make every effort to protect any medical information you have access to.
What Else Can I Do?
Aside from your legal obligations, there are a number of things you can do to create an inclusive work environment for people with disabilities.
The first thing you can do is seek to understand the barriers people with disabilities face, and which of those barriers you may be currently using. For example, people who are “neurodivergent” may find it difficult to focus in an open office environment, and people with communication or comprehension impairments may be left of out decision making processes that require a communication style in which they are limited. Accommodations to these can be as simple as a change in desk placement or using more than one method for communication.
In addition, consider how job descriptions and requirements are unnecessarily exclusive of people with disabilities. For example, many descriptions have a standard ability to lift a certain weight, but is that ability to lift essential to the job function? In addition, consider how many people with disabilities are under-employed, and how things like gaps on a resume or previous compensation can unfairly bias hiring managers against people with disabilities.
Another thing you can do is adopt a comprehensive approach that integrates with your Diversity, Inclusivity, and Equity efforts and makes accessibility and inclusion part of your company culture. This includes adopting inclusive practices and technologies as standard business. It can also mean creating proactive policies and systems for accommodation and being intentional about communicating them.
As a business owner, you have legal obligations to ensure employees who have a disability can do their jobs and you do not unfairly discriminate against them. However, investing in accessibility—not just legal obligations, but intentional inclusion work—will have positive returns for your staffing, business and, ultimately, bottom line.
