Employment of persons
with disabilities and
‘inclusive corporate culture’
A literature review
(Work in progress)
Yuliya Kuznetsova
PhD student / Marie Curie Research Fellow
Disability Rights Expanding Accessible Markets (DREAM) Project
NOVA – Norwegian Social Research Institute
yuliya.kuznetsova@nova.no / www.nova.no
Norwegian Social Research
The main topics of the presentation
1. Employment as an important element of social
2.
3.
4.
5.
inclusion
Driving forces leading to changes in
companies policies towards employment of
persons with disabilities
Barriers limiting employment of persons with
disabilities
Elements of ‘inclusive corporate culture’
Preliminary conclusion
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European strategies for social
inclusion
• European report on social inclusion 2005: social inclusion
•
•
provides opportunities and resources for the socially excluded
population to participate fully in economic, social and cultural
life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being
Europe 2020 strategy: inclusion or inclusive growth is one of
the three priorities aiming at empowering people through high
levels of employment, investing in skills, fighting poverty,
modernising labour markets and involving wider population
into employment
European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: considers
employment one of the most critical factor for social inclusion:
more people with disabilities need to be in paid employment
on the open labour market (work conditions and job quality)
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Social inclusion
• Inclusion or integration is a process of bringing
people with, and without, a disability together in
shared physical settings so that meaningful social
interactions can be fostered and maintained (Patterson,
2001)
• For persons with disabilities social inclusion occurs in
multiple contexts and covers all aspects of life at
infrastructural, interpersonal and personal levels (Hall,
2009) Figure 1. Social Inclusion
• Social inclusion for people with disabilities consisted
of three elements: involvement in activities,
maintaining reciprocal relationships, and a sense of
belonging (Hall, 2009)
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Employment as an important element of
social inclusion of persons with disabilities
• Positive action and a work of decent quality are the most
effective means of escaping the ‘vicious circle of
marginalization, poverty and social exclusion’ (ILO website,
Disability and work; Atkinson & Marlier, 2010)
• Being employed, disabled people can not only increase
their financial income, but incorporate into the
mainstream society by increasing their social participation
and networks, civic skills, status and relationships, sense
of efficiency, belonging and inclusion (Bates & Davis, 2004; Schur
et al., 2005)
• Society can benefit from human, social and economic
development, eradication of poverty and social exclusion
(Bates & Davis, 2004; Atkinson & Marlier, 2010; Wehman, 2011)
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Driving forces leading to the changes in
societal and corporate attitudes
• Change from the ‘medical model’ towards the ‘social
model’ of disability: not a personal impairment but social
context and environment (Quinn, 2009)
• Change from protected and segregated forms of
employment to employment in the mainstream labour
market: persons with disabilities as “social minority” and
‘disability’ a matter of basic civil rights (Bickenbach et al., 1999,
Shakespeare & Watson, 2001)
• Accessibility and antidiscrimination legislation: the
•
new policy approach emphasizing social and economic
integration of persons with disabilities (2000/78/EC; UN CRPD)
The corporate culture open towards diverse workforce
and principles of inclusion: has so far to a greater
extent been observed in large corporations and MNEs
(Schur et al., 2005, Newton et al., 2007, McMahon et al., 2008, Samant et al., 2009)
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OECD Report 2010:
«Sickness, Disability and Work» (p. 51)
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Barriers limiting employment of
persons with disabilities
‘personal’
‘organizational’
o
o
o
o
Individual characteristics
Inaccessible environment
Inadequate policies
Employment not designed
for disabled people
o Low quality jobs: unskilled,
semi-skilled and skilled
manual jobs, less
earnings, especially for
disabled women
o Discrimination at the workplace: negative
attitudes, prejudices and stereotyped
behaviour
o Improper work environment: risk-based
employment not suitable for disabled
employees (the nature of work of the
enterprise)
o Concerns about costs and productivity
o Low level of sustaining employment and
retention for workers with disabilities
o Unwelcome corporate culture
o Unwillingness to allow individuals with
disabilities to prove their capabilities
(Hall & Wilton, 2011, Olney & Lyle,
2011, Chan et al., 2010, Shier,
2009; Kaye et al., 2011)
(Schur, 2003, Schur et al., 2005, Hernandez et al., 2008,
McMahon et al., 2008; Mohammad Ali et al., 2011,)
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‘A culture of inclusion’
• A culture that enhances workforce integration and brings
•
•
•
to life diversity potentials: where people with multiple
backgrounds can work effectively together and perform to
their highest potential (Pless & Maak, 2004)
A culture where opinions, assumptions, values,
stereotypes, rituals and stories are translated into
policies and procedures influencing the way qualified
workers are hired and managed (Davis, 2005)
A culture based on clarified normative grounds,
principles of recognition, mutual understanding, trust
and honoring the differences (Pless & Maak, 2004)
A culture embracing the formal and informal policies and
practices and encompassing three important elements:
universal design, HR policies and workplace
accommodation (BBI, 2011)
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Inclusive corporate culture
(adopted from Schein,1992; 2009)
I. ‘Artifacts’ or
visible
organizational
structure
• Architecture
• Interpersonal
behaviour
• Climate
II. ‘The espoused
values’ that
explicitly guide
organizational
policies
• Values,
mission
• Stated
strategies
• Goals
• Philosophies
III. Underlying
tacit assumptions
• Unspoken
values
• Norms
• Beliefs
• Perceptions
• Design of the work space and
premises (material and non-material)
• Accessibility (communication,
scheduling, job description and
physical accommodation)
• Supportive climate
• CSR, Diversity, equality and ethics
policies
• HR Policies (recruitment,
accommodation, promotion and
retention)
• Adjustment or accomodation
throughout all HR processes
• Flexibility and focus on job skills
• Another type of diversity that gives a
competitive advantage
• Sensitivity, flexibility, support, respect,
positive attitudes
• Value of diversity
• Assistive co-workers
• Cooperation rather than competition
• «Part of social group» – feeling of
belonginess
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Important elements of
‘inclusive corporate culture’
1. Involving senior management (strong and ongoing commitment by top
2.
management), which sets a tone of inclusion (Schur et al., 2005, Chan et al., 2010)
Changing organization's norms and values and providing written value
statements that address legislation and individuals with disabilities (Davis, 2005,
Schur et al., 2005)
3. Changing organizational policies and practices: the design of jobs, staffing
methods, evaluation procedures, and reward systems in organizations
(Stone &
Colella, 1996, Schur et al., 2005)
4. Proactive recruitment and retention policies (recruitment, selection processes,
workplace accommodation, interpersonal relationships, supportive culture,
training and performance) and making job site modification (job duties, work
schedule, adaptive equipment) (Davis, 2005, Markel & Barclay, 2009, Schur et al., 2005,
Wehman, 2003)
5. Changing attitudes, beliefs, emotional reactions and responses: providing
social skills trainings and instructions (formal and informal social codes);
teaching the social culture on the job site; establish support networks (Stone &
Colella, 1996, Wehman, 2003)
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Preliminary conclusions
• Many disabled people still remain excluded from paid employment
(Hall & Wilton, 2011)
• Positive examples are needed: the more employers are willing to
hire persons with disabilities, the more other employers will follow
(Wehman, 2011), thus more experience of companies that are
successfully employing persons with disabilities need to be shared
with larger business community (Hernandez et al., 2008)
• There is a need for greater collaboration between policy-makers
and employers to better promote the success of disabled people in
the labour market, as well as eliminating negative attitudes and
prejudices and promoting employer education about the issues
that disabled people face are important (Shier et al., 2009)
• Inclusion does not only embrace one part of the corporate culture,
e.g. recruitment or policies, it is about engaging all aspects of the
corporate culture, and not only hiring but retaining and
advancement of employees, and creating an accessible and
convenient environment for all
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References
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Bates, P. & Davis, F. A. (2004) Social capital, social inclusion and services for people with learning disabilities, Disability &
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Thank you!
• Questions
• Comments
• Suggestions
are welcome!!!
yuliya.kuznetsova@nova.no
Norwegian Social Research