People with disabilities are a huge untapped resource.
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Mass turnover, inflation, and a sluggish economy are converging to make it difficult to hire and retain top talent in today’s job market. According to McKinsey & Company, “an insidious rise in inflation” has disrupted economies around the world and will continue to do so for some time to come. In this challenging environment, organizations need to be innovative and creative to ensure they are adequately staffed and achieve their goals.
When considering hiring new employees, remember that people with disabilities are a huge untapped resource.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 19.1% of people with disabilities were employed in 2021, up from 17.9% in 2020. Despite this increase, people with disabilities are less likely to be employed than people without disabilities across all age groups, and across all education groups.
More than 5.5 million working-age workers in the United States have disabilities, which represents 3.9% of the total workforce, according to a Kessler Foundation survey conducted in June 2022. These future employees have strong skills and diverse experiences that can bring balance and collaboration.
At Allsup Employment Services (AES), our case managers help people find work as they recover or stabilize from a disabling illness or injury. Through Social Security’s Ticket to Work (TTW) program, recipients can return to work while protecting their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Our clients demonstrate this valuable resource because they are resilient and have a lot to offer.
Here are three ways people with disabilities can make a difference in their organizations.
Fostering innovation. According to the 2022 Disability Equality Index, hiring people with disabilities helps stabilize a workplace in flux. High-performing employees with disabilities bring unique work skills and perspectives that can foster innovation. The American Bar Association reports that when individuals advocate for accessible technology, for example, it can accelerate innovation and even lead to an expanded customer base. Increased profits. Accenture’s research also found that companies that utilize best practices for hiring and supporting people with disabilities outperform their peers. Organizations that promote disability inclusion had 28% higher revenue, twice the net income, and 30% higher profit margins compared to their peers during the four-year period analyzed. They also had higher total shareholder returns compared to organizations that do not adopt these practices. Increased diversity and inclusion. Public awareness of accessibility and accommodations is valuable for people with disabilities because progress in these areas makes a difference for both workers and customers. All workers benefit from a diverse work environment. Collaboration and teamwork are essential, different ideas and perspectives facilitate problem-solving and achievement, and diverse backgrounds encourage teams to think differently about work, how to achieve organizational goals, and how to make the work environment more inclusive and accessible to all.
In my work with clients over the years, I’ve found that people with disabilities often bring a fresh perspective to business problems. Their determination and tenacity in the face of a life-changing medical condition, especially one that is medically recovered or stable, are transferable skills that can be useful in any organization and in any role.
The value that employees with disabilities bring to a company far outweighs any accommodations you have to make for them. When considering new employees, companies are missing out if they don’t think about the talented people who are taking advantage of Ticket to Work programs. Hundreds of individuals are already contributing productive, meaningful employees at companies across the country. Now is the time for your company to take a closer look.