Employers need help with integration

People with disabilities are 70 per cent more likely to be unemployed than their non-disabled counterparts. At the root of this employment gap are employer attitudes and a lack of awareness about disabilities and accommodation

The Canadian Abilities Foundation published a report last year that looks at why employment continues to be an elusive dream for tens of thousands of Canadians with disabilities. Following are some findings from that report, Neglected or Hidden.

In spite of the myriad of initiatives introduced by governments at all levels over the past 25 years, people with disabilities fare more poorly in Canada’s workforce than do their non-disabled counterparts.

Labour force participation rates are at 49 per cent for people with disabilities, compared to 65 per cent for the general population. Unemployment rates for people with disabilities are also close to 70 per cent above the national average.

In the resulting report, Neglected or Hidden, one of the key findings is employer attitudes play a significant role. Among the 1,200 people with disabilities surveyed for this report, 45 per cent believed employers are reluctant to hire people with disabilities.

(Surveys were conducted in 2003; of the 1,200 respondents, 56 per cent were working, including 34 per cent working full time, 15 per cent working part time and seven per cent working for themselves. Researchers also conducted phone and in-person interviews with respondents representing about 50 service agencies as well as 50 employers across the country.)

Of those respondents who were without work at the time of this survey, seven in 10 believed employers are reluctant to hire people with disabilities. About half the respondents felt employers were unwilling to accommodate the needs of workers with disabilities; half also felt they lacked the flexible working conditions required to work.

Employers themselves acknowledged this lack of awareness. A majority of employers interviewed had little experience with recruiting workers with disabilities or integrating them into the workplace.

And even though the majority of respondents with disabilities had some level of post-secondary education, several employers admitted to looking upon people with disabilities as having very limited skills and abilities and had never considered them when addressing a skills shortage.

Many employers also said they didn’t know where to find qualified workers with disabilities, though some seemed genuinely interested and would welcome help in this regard. Few have reached out to service providers and disabled jobseekers.

A sample of comments

Below are a few things people with disabilities had to say about employer awareness and practices related to hiring people with disabilities:

•“Awareness training is a very good start, but social psychology research on changing patterns of behaviour makes me doubt that that is sufficient. Only by beginning to hire people with disabilities and seeing them as a part of the workforce will attitudes and hiring practices change.”

•“I have found in my past job searches that people were reluctant to even interview me. I believe it would be more beneficial if there was more interaction between employers and persons with disabilities, so that each could see the other’s requirements. Employers have preconceived ideas.”

•“Lack of exposure to the employer. I’ve found that once the employer realizes what a disabled individual can bring to his/her business they will not think twice about hiring.”

Employers’ views

Most of the employers interviewed had some familiarity with disability issues stemming primarily from workers’ compensation and absenteeism-related matters. This familiarity is likely due to a decade of significantly increasing costs in these areas. As a consequence, many employers have been forced to develop policies and programs to bring these costs under control.

Beyond the question of worker reintegration to hiring and recruitment practices, however, a majority of employers had little information to share, and even less experience with recruiting workers with disabilities into their organizations.

A comment from a Quebec employer of more than 500 workers helps describe this lack of experience: “In my eight years here, I have only had one person with a visible disability present himself for a job.”

A few employers responded negatively to the researchers’ requests for information, and went on to display a stunning lack of understanding of the overall capabilities of workers with disabilities.

Notwithstanding, a good number were intrigued by the research and displayed an eagerness to learn more about this untapped workforce. More importantly, there are employers across the country, while in a significant minority, who are clearly leaders in this area. Of those interviewed, the majority also happened to be legislated to deliver on workplace equity.

Examples of specific hiring and recruitment initiatives that these leading employers have adopted include the practices below.

•Partnerships with central referral agencies: These employers want a one-stop shop, rather than hunting for recruits from agency to agency. They are also not shopping for a person with a disability, but looking for someone able to meet the skills shortages they periodically face. One employer, a major Canadian bank, had recruited 15 individuals over an eight-month period through its regional partner agency.

•Training programs specifically targeting people with disabilities: These programs focus on both injured workers who require retraining and people with disabilities who have little work experience. They are typically delivered at the work site and involve both classroom and “shop floor” time. A third-party disability services organization is often involved as well. The programs are considered to be very successful by the stakeholders involved.

•Physical demands and hazard analysis of all jobs: Some employers have conducted a demands analysis of all positions within their organization. Where candidates with disabilities are capable of meeting at least 75 per cent to 80 per cent of a particular job’s demands, they are considered qualified. Where feasible, job modifications are then made in an effort to bring this performance as close to 100 per cent as possible.

Those employers who had at least some of the foregoing practices in place said they had little, if any, difficulties hiring people with disabilities. Where no special measures were in place, the list of recruiting difficulties cited was quite extensive.

The more common of these included the following:

•entry-level positions are primarily outsourced to other organizations;

•a lack of job applications from people with disabilities;

•people with disabilities do not want to self-identify;

•those who apply often do not have the qualifications sought;

•union is resistant to innovative job accommodation measures;

•priority is currently on other equity target groups, such as Aboriginal people;

•workforce is being reduced, hence the priority is on laid-off workers; and

•very competitive industry, need full productivity from all workers from the outset.

Incentive programs

Researchers asked employers their views on employment incentive programs, but were unable to establish any consensus in this area.

Some felt financial hiring incentives, particularly in a highly competitive industry sector, were important considerations while others felt these did not warrant the time and expense of administration. Some employers suggested that the cost of assistive devices or any workplace accommodation should be covered by government. By contrast, there was a good deal of interest and support for training incentives, particularly if programs were to focus specifically on employer needs.

The majority of employers expressed concern over the limited number of applications they receive from qualified individuals. As such, apprenticeship programs, on-the-job training and skills training partnerships all struck a chord with employers.

Workplace accommodation

Workplace accommodation is not well understood by most employers. Many saw accommodation as a costly measure for specific people. Some also acknowledged that accommodation influences decisions in the hiring process. Most employers admitted to having little experience with workplace accommodation and that training in this area would be beneficial to both existing workers and new recruits. As with hiring people with disabilities, employers seldom knew where to turn for expertise in this area.

Several employers were able to describe some workplace accommodations that they had provided to their employees with disabilities and these included: office reconfiguration, modified duties and hours of work, assistive devices, larger computer monitors, and designated parking spaces. They also told us how they consult with their disabled employees before making any accommodation decisions, and try to be as flexible as possible when doing so. For them, the key to successful workplace accommodation was good, open communication.

While none of the accommodations were expensive, the perceived high cost of workplace accommodation remains prevalent in the minds of many employers interviewed. A majority of this study’s respondents with disabilities who require workplace accommodations felt that the annual costs would be less than $500. According to the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work, about one-half of workers with disabilities require no accommodation. And where accommodations are provided, in only about 20 per cent of cases does the cost exceed $500.

Opinions about ways to increase employment opportunities

Employers see qualifications and productivity as key among factors influencing the employment status of people with disabilities Employers were asked to share their thoughts on the high unemployment experienced by people with disabilities, and why their disabilities are perceived to exclude them from the workforce.

A number of employers were reluctant to comment on this line of questioning, while others felt people with disabilities were simply not considering them as possible places of employment due to their line of business — energy exploration, transportation, heavy equipment assembly and so on.

Some employers also suggested that human resources officials often do not know how to hire people with disabilities, and may fear the firing process if the placement does not work out.

Some employers indicated that their organization, both at management and staff levels, may not be ready to bring in employees with disabilities — simply due to their lack of experience in this area. They felt management had not given any thought to the matter and co-workers would probably be uncomfortable until they had received some awareness and sensitivity training.

Most responses, however, focused on the issue of finding the most qualified person for the job — whether or not the applicant has a disability. A number of these employers told us that jobseekers rarely indicate on their applications that they have a disability.

Most employers spoke of looking for the right skill set, yet concerns over productivity surfaced regularly when discussing qualifications. Indeed, qualifications often appeared to be measured in terms of productivity rather than capability. In the view of many employers, people with disabilities need to be as productive as their non-disabled co-workers. If they are not, businesses operating in a particular sector may become less competitive than those which chose not to hire people with disabilities. Whether private or publicly traded companies, those interviewed were mindful of the risk to shareholders if the company pursues an uncompetitive path for any length of time.

The above provides a summary of some of the attitudes expressed by employers and people with disabilities on the employment gap. Look in the next issue of Canadian HR Reporter for a discussion on innovative approaches to recruit people with disabilities. For more on the Neglected or Hidden Report, go to www.abilities.ca.

Alar Prost and David Redmond are Ottawa-based consultants and researchers. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].


The impact of disability on work

•34 per cent: More than one-third of people with disabilities became disabled during adult working years.

•69 per cent: Of those disabled during adult years, seven in 10 were forced to make a career change as a result.

•70 per cent: Seven in 10 respondents said they need some form of workplace accommodation in order to work. This figure is 89 per cent for those with a severe disability, 68 per cent of those with a moderate disability and 48 per cent of those with a mild disability.

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