Globally, people with disabilities are physicians, engineers, farmers, artists, and teachers. Most of the jobs can be performed with people with disabilities (PWDs), and if they are provided the right environment, PWDs have the ability to as productive as their counterparts. However, as documented by a wide range of literature, PWDs experience employment barriers in the labor market (Cramm et al., 2013; Harris et al., 2014; Rosenthal et al., 2012). Along with contending with discrimination and pervasive negative attitudes in the community, PWDs have to overcome uncountable employment barriers in the labor market. Some of these barriers include lack of training and educational opportunities, poor health, low employment expectations, and increased financial hardship, among other barriers (Atkinson, 2016). This paper seeks to explore the effect of disabilities on employment. In particular, the paper will explore the factors that impact labor market outcomes for PWDs. Furthermore, the paper will propose some solutions that can be used to address labor market imperfections among PWDs.
The Purpose Statement
The topic that has been chosen is the effect of disabilities on employment. For many PWDs, finding and sustaining work is a challenge. Research carried out over the last few years highlights the plights that PWDs face, such as lack of employment opportunities, lack of educational and training opportunities, and lack of inclusion in the society, among other factors (Cramm et al., 2013). According to the United Nations (U.N.) (n.d), in third-world countries, 80-90% of disabled people are unemployed, whereas, in developed nations, this figure ranges between 50 and 70. In this respect, this topic was chosen to explore the factors that influence the unemployment of PWDs and propose solutions to address the barriers to work and employment that PWDs face. PWDs are disadvantaged in the labor market due to the following barriers: lack of access to education, lack of training opportunities, misconceptions about disability, discrimination, and overprotection in labor laws. To address these barriers, there is a need to implement laws and regulations, such as anti-discrimination laws, tailor interventions, such as to stipulate quotas and provide incentives to employers, provide training programs to restore the capabilities of PWDs, fund PWDs to help start their own businesses, provide social protection, and change perceptions and attitudes on disability. These measures are highly likely to improve the labor market opportunities for PWDs.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Background
Participation in the Labour Market
If PWDs are to overcome their challenges and improve their livelihoods, there is a need to break some of the circular barriers between disability poverty. This includes ensuring PWDs actively participate in the labor market. Many organizations and corporations fear that PWDs are unqualified and not productive. However, as documented in a wide range of literature, PWDs have a number of skills as well as low absenteeism rates (Bagshaw, 2006). According to Bagshaw (2006), some corporations find it suitable to hire PWDs. The input of PWDs in the labor market is vital for a number of reasons. First, by employing PWDs, the labor market maximizes human resources. Productively engaging PWDs in the labor market not only increases the wellbeing of disabled people but also contributes to the national economy. Secondly, the participation of PWDs in the labor market promotes human dignity and social cohesion. Through employment, PWDs can generate income and improve their livelihoods. In addition, employment can bring a number of other benefits, including personal and social benefits. These benefits add to a sense of human dignity as well as a sense of social cohesion. In this respect, PWDs ought to participate in the labor market so as to develop both their skills and capabilities.
According to the labor market theory, due to supply and demand, the participation of PWDs in the labor market is lower than that of their counterparts. With regard to the supply side, PWDs experience an increased cost of working. Unlike their counterparts, PWDs require more effort to reach and perform in the workplace. In addition, in nations that tend to have allowances that favor PWDs, employment is highly likely to result in a loss of benefits and health care coverage (Bonnaccio et al., 2019). Thus, the “reservation wage” of PWDs may be higher than that of their counterparts. The “benefits trap” that results from this is a huge concern of a number of developed nations (Kemp et al., 2006).
With regard to the demand side, disable people are perceived to be less productive. This is particularly true in workplace environments that are unsuitable for PWDs. In such environments, PWDs are highly likely to be offered lower wages. It is not easy to calculate the effects of disability on productivity. This is because there is a number of factors that come into play. This includes the type of disability, the workplace environment, and the responsibilities to be completed in the workplace. For instance, an individual who is blind may find it difficult to operate a crane. However, the same individual may face no difficulties when asked to work as a telephone operator. In the agricultural sector, a significant number of jobs involve heavy manual labor. Thus, an individual with a disability, such as those who are not able to walk or carry heavyweights, may face an impediment to productivity. Also, a PWD is highly likely to be paid less than their counterparts purely out of discrimination. Therefore, a “higher reservation wage” and a “lower market wage” make a PWD less likely to participate in the labor market than their counterparts.
Barriers to Entering the Labour Market
As stated earlier, PWDs face a number of challenges when it comes to entering the labor market. This includes their lack of access to education, lack of training programs, and/or lack of adequate financial services. Other factors include the nature of the labor market or workplace and the perceptions of employers, organizations, or corporations on disability and PWDs. There is a need to conduct extensive research on factors that prevent PWDs from actively participating in the labor market.
Lack of Access
One of the main barriers that PWDs face is a lack of access to education opportunities and training and development opportunities. PWDs, especially the young ones, usually lack access to formal education. They also lack prospects to enhance their skills and capabilities. According to O’Keefe (2007), there is a huge gap in educational attainment between PWDs and their counterparts, and this gap is an ever-increasing obstacle. Other than lack of educational and training opportunities, PWDs also experience environmental obstacles that make reaching the workplace difficult. Some of these obstacles include difficulties in affording daily travel costs, lack of access to job interviews, and a barrier to information access, especially among visually impaired individuals.
Another barrier that PWDs often face is lack of access to financial resources. Just like their counterparts, PWDs also need adequate funding in order to set-up their own businesses. However, PWDs, especially disabled women, face difficulties when it comes to accessing funds. This is because PWDs frequently lack security. Creditors often see PWDs as high risks individuals for loans. For this reason, PWDs usually face difficulties when obtaining funds for investment (Martinelli & Mersland, 2010). According to Martinelli & and Mersland (2010), credit markets usually prevent PWDs from obtaining funds to start their own businesses.
Misconceptions About Disability
Another factor that significantly contribute to the less participation of PWDs in the labor market is employers’ misconceptions about the ability of PWDs to perform in the workplace. Some employers believe that PWDs are less productively than their counterparts (Gartell, 2010). Misconceptions are often prevalent among both PWDs and their family members. In addition, some PWDs have low self-expectations when it comes to employment opportunities. Due to this, many individuals who are disabled fail to attempt to seek employment opportunities. The social isolation of PWDs limits their access to social networks that can help them find a job.
Discrimination
PWDs are highly discriminated against in the workplace. Employers discriminate against PWDs for various reasons, including misconceptions about their capabilities. The degree of discrimination of prejudice depends on the type of disability, with people with mental health disorders being the ones who are highly prejudiced (Baldwin & Marcus, 2006). For this reason, many people with mental health disease conceal their conditions when applying for work.
Overprotection in Labour Laws
Many countries retain protective views towards disabled workers. Their labor codes include mandates that are designed to protect PWDs. Some of the mandates included in labor codes to protect workers with disabilities include “shorter working days, more rest periods, longer paid leave, and higher severance pays for disabled workers,” regardless of the type of disability (Kuddo, 2009). While these mandates are designed to protect PWDs, they might, in some circumstances, makes employers perceive disabled employees as unproductive and more costly than their counterparts. For this reason, disabled workers are less desirable in the workplace. To improve the participation of PWDs in the labor market, there is a need to address the barriers they face to work and employment.
Proposed Solutions
There are a number of solutions proposed to address the barriers to employment that PWDs face in the labor market. The solutions are categorized into the following categories: laws and regulations, tailored interventions, training and development, funding, social protection, and changing the perceptions of employees. The outcomes of these proposed measures vary and sometimes contradictory. Thus, there is a need to conduct more research to determine which of these proposed solutions best improves labor market opportunities for PWDs, and are cost-effective and sustainable.
Laws and Regulations
One of the mechanisms that can be used to address the barriers to work and employment among PWDs is implementing laws and regulations, such as anti-discrimination laws and affirmative actions. Anti-discrimination laws make it illegal for employers to discriminate against PDWs due to their conditions. Over the past few years, countries have been incorporating disability discrimination clauses into their general legislation to prevent discrimination of disabled workers in the labor market. For example, the U.S. implemented the Americans with Disability Act to increase the participation of PWDs in the labor market. These laws will make employment easier for PWDs as they reduce employment discrimination, increase participation in the labor market, and change employers’ perceptions about disability and disabled workers. This includes changing the perception that disabled workers are less productive. Rather than discriminating them, employers should provide reasonable accommodations to improve the workplace environment for PWDs. For example, employers should ensure employment opportunities are accessible to all, modify the workplace environment, and provide assistive technologies. The cost of the accommodations can be born by employment organizations, workers, or both.
The enactment of anti-discrimination laws has the potential to reduce discrimination and bring PWDs into the workforce (Ameri et al., 2018). However, there is mixed evidence about the success of these laws and regulations. For example, when the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted, employers refrained from employing PWDs to avoid potential litigation. As a result, the employment rate for disabled workers fell. In another study, Bell & Heitmueller (2009), the U.S. Disability Discrimination Act led to a fall in the employment rate immediately after it was implemented. Rather than being a tool to promote employment of PWDs, it acted as a disincentive to dismissing disabled workers. However, recent evidence suggests that the act is narrowing the employment gap between disabled workers and their counterparts.
Tailored Interventions
A number of interventions can be tailored to address the barriers that PWDs face in the labor market. Some of these interventions include stipulating quotas, providing incentives to employers, and disability management, among many other tailored interventions. With regard to quotas, countries can stipulate quotas for the employment of PWDs both in the public sector and the private sector. Quotas eliminate discrimination and the perception that disabled workers are unproductive in the workplace. Thus, employers will turn to disabled workers, increasing their rate of employment. However, there is no evidence that documents the assumption that quotas correct market imperfections. Thus, there is a need to conduct extensive research in this area to determine the effectiveness of this proposed solution.
Despite the lack of evidence, some countries, such as Germany and South Africa, stipulate quotas. For example, Germany has a quota of 5% for the employment of PWDs in corporations or organizations that employ 20 or more employees. On the other hand, South Africa has a quota of at least 2 percent. However, despite implementing these provisions, the quotas are often not met. Governments should impose fines on organizations or corporations that fail to adhere to these quotas. Such fines will act as an incentive or initiative to enhance the employment of disabled workers.
Another tailored intervention is to provide incentives to employers. For example, instead of employers bearing the cost of providing reasonable accommodations, employees should bear the costs. In this way, employers will hire PWDs, reducing their mobility in the market. To counter the obstacles associated with the provision of a reasonable accommodation to disabled workers, employers can be provided with financial incentives. Some of these financial incentives include providing tax incentives and supporting workplace modifications.
Vocational Training and Rehabilitation
Another proposed solution is to provide PWDs with training opportunities to develop or restore their skills and capabilities. By providing them with vocational rehabilitation and training services, PWDs would be able to successfully participate in the competitive labor market. In this respect, governments should open vocational rehabilitation and training institutions for disabled people. They should also develop mainstream vocational guidance and training programs. However, vocational rehabilitation training and rehabilitation programs, especially those in developing countries, fail to reach a significant proportion of the target population because of their high costs. Thus, the government should invest in these programs to ensure a significant portion of disabled people are adequately trained. Disabled workers should also be imparted with technical skills to ensure they become competitive in the workplace environment.
Self-Employment and Microfinance
To address the barrier that PWDs face in the labor market, disabled people should be provided with funds to help start small businesses. In particular, PWDs should be imparted with marketing skills, given credits, and provided with long-term support to ensure they succeed in their self-employment programs. Many PWDs do not have adequate assets to secure loans. Principally, microfinance programs are open to all, regardless of their condition. However, there are a number of obstacles in mainstream microfinance programs. Anecdotal evidence suggests that only a limited number of PWDs benefit from such programs. Thus, there is a need to set up microfinance programs primarily for PWDs. Microfinance programs have great social and economic impacts on PWDs. In this respect, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should run provisional schemes to ensure disabled people are adequately financed to start their own businesses.
Social Protection
Social assistance benefits can have positive effects on PWDs. The lives of disabled people are often characterized by periods of unemployment as well as income insecurity. In this respect, there is a need to provide social assistance programs to this population when planning the transitional phases from and back onto benefits. This will help ensure PWDs feel an incentive to work while still being secure that the benefit is still available even when they fail to succeed. However, there is a huge barrier to the implementation of this proposed solution. One of the barriers is the growth in disability benefit costs. There is a need to introduce reforms in this area to minimize costs. For example, the passive benefits may be replaced with active labor market programs.
Working to Change Attitudes
Another proposed solution is to develop awareness programs to change employers’ attitudes about disability and disabled people. At the moment, there are many organizations that are working to change employers’ perceptions at the community level. There is a need to change employers’ perceptions of disability on the national and international levels. Evidence suggests that employing a PWDs in itself changes attitudes within that workplace ( Schneider, 2006 ). This means that organizational already employing PWDs are highly likely to employ other PWDs. Moreover, there is a need to conduct awareness campaigns to counter misconceptions about disability and PWDs. In addition, PWDs ought to be enabled to progress up the career ladder. A wide range of literature suggests that PWDs may lack opportunities for promotion. This lack of promotion can be attributed to a number of factors, such as the reluctance of employers to disabled people to manage others.
Conclusion
Almost all jobs can be performed by PWDs, and given the right environment, a disabled person can be as productive as a non-disabled person. Despite this, PWDs experience lower employment rates as well as higher unemployment rates than their counterparts. This can be attributed to a wide range of factors, such as lack of access to education, lack of access to training programs, lack of access to financial services, and employers’ perceptions of disability and PWDs, among many other factors. In order to improve the labor market opportunities for PWDs, many stakeholders can play a role. Some of these stakeholders include governments, employment agencies, disabled people’s organizations, and trade unions. This document has proposed a number of solutions that these stakeholders can implement to address the barriers that PWDs face in the labor market. Some of the solutions that have been proposed include enactment and enforcement of effective anti-discrimination legislation, changing employers’ attitudes towards disability and PWDs, and providing vocation rehabilitation and training programs, among many other solutions. By implementing these proposed solutions, the employment rate of PWDs is highly likely to increase.
References
Atkinson, T. P. (2016). Effects of social issues on employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Dissertations. Clemson University, Tiger Prints.
Bagshaw, M. (2006). Ignoring disability: a wasted opportunity. Wellington, National Equal Opportunities Network .
Bell, D., & Heitmueller, A. (2009). The Disability Discrimination Act in the U.K.: Helping or hindering employment among the disabled? Journal of health economics , 28 (2), 465-480.
Bonaccio, S., Connelly, C. E., Gellatly, I. R., Jetha, A., & Ginis, K. A. M. (2019). The participation of people with disabilities in the workplace across the employment cycle: Employer concerns and research evidence. Journal of Business and Psychology , 1-24.
Cramm, J. M., Nieboer, A. P., Finkenflügel, H., & Lorenzo, T. (2013). Comparison of barriers to employment among youth with and without disabilities in South Africa. Work , 46 (1), 19-24.
Gartrell, A. (2010). ‘A frog in a well’: the exclusion of disabled people from work in Cambodia. Disability & Society , 25 (3), 289-301.
Harris, L. M., Matthews, L. R., Penrose‐Wall, J., Alam, A., & Jaworski, A. (2014). Perspectives on barriers to employment for job seekers with mental illness and additional substance‐use problems. Health & social care in the community , 22 (1), 67-77.
Kemp, P. A., Sunden, A., & Tauritz, B. B. (2006). Sick Societies? Trends in Disability Benefits in Postindustrial Welfare States. Geneva, Int. Social Security Association .
Kuddo, A. (2009). Labor laws in Eastern European and Central Asian countries: Minimum norms and practices . World Bank.
Martinelli, E., & Mersland, R. (2010). Microfinance for people with disabilities. Poverty and Disability .
Rosenthal, D. A., Hiatt, E. K., Anderson, C. A., Brooks, J., Hartman, E. C., Wilson, M. T., & Fujikawa, M. (2012). Facilitators and barriers to integrated employment: Results of focus group analysis. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation , 36 (2), 73-86.
United Nations. (n.d). Disability and employment. [Online]. Retrieved November 9, 2020, from the United Nations. https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/factsheet-on-persons-with-disabilities/disability-and-employment.html
