Training & Remote Work for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities

Designing training and the workplace for workers with disabilities can be good for everyone. SCT’s Mario Pierobon reports.

Ensuring an inclusive future of work is part of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations (UN). Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognises the right of persons with disabilities to work together with others on an equal basis. The expected transformations in the future of work entail risks for persons with disabilities, but they also offer opportunities, according to a joint publication available online by Fundación ONCE and the International Labour Office (ILO) Global Business and Disability Network, developed within the framework of Disability Hub Europe, a project led by Fundación ONCE and co-funded by the European Social Fund [i].

“To mitigate these risks and maximise the opportunities, measures must be urgently put in place, and it is essential that persons with disabilities play an active role in decision-making concerning future employment policies,” the joint publication says.

In the history of the inclusion of workers with disabilities in the workforce, one of the earliest international acknowledgements which can be recalled was made by ILO at the end of World War II. In the employment (Transition from War to Peace) recommendation 1944 No. 71, ILO affirmed that workers with disabilities, “whatever the origin of their disability, should be provided with full opportunities for rehabilitation, specialised vocational guidance, training and retraining, and employment on useful work.”

ILO Convention No. 159 and Recommendation No. 168 states that people with disabilities should enjoy equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of access to, retention of, and advancement in employment which should correspond, whenever possible, to their own choice and should consider their individual suitability for employment, according to an ILO report published in 2015 [ii].

Training as an Enabler of Inclusion

While most nations have incorporated in their regulatory systems requirements for the inclusion of workers with disabilities in the workforce, the reality is that often such workers tend to lag behind other jobseekers, in particular in those circumstances when the overall numbers of unemployed is on the rise.

The 2015 ILO report said: “While ignorance and prejudice may play a part in such situations, a key factor is often their inability to compete on the basis of relevant skills and qualifications. What an employer will look for in recruiting a new employee is, first and foremost, the capacity to do the job (given reasonable accommodation, where necessary). Applicants who can demonstrate that they have the necessary competence or have the capacity to acquire it after suitable training, have an advantage over applicants who cannot. Training, which should encompass skills, knowledge and attitudes, is very often the key to success in finding a job.”

Indeed, training plays an important part in the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the future of work. The Fundación ONCE and ILO Global Business and Disability Network joint publication identifies skills development and life-long learning made inclusive of persons with disabilities as one of the key objectives relevant for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the economy. All workers are continuously confronted with the need to update their knowledge and skills due to ever more condensed processes of innovation. In this context, ensuring that persons with disabilities have the adequate skills will become ever more relevant and will need to address both those seeking to enter the labour market as well as those in the labour market who might be at risk of losing their jobs. Life-long learning is key for all and needs to be inclusive of persons with disabilities.

The Role of Technology

While education, training, and life-long-learning are central pillars of the right to work, these same areas are also often the first stage at which persons with disabilities tend to fall behind in opportunities related to access and advancement in employment, states the ILO report.

However, according to the Fundación ONCE and ILO Global Business and Disability Network joint publication, technological transformation can offer improved access to the job market to persons with disabilities. “Digital technology facilitates participation in training in the form of more flexible, more condensed learning arrangements. Digital platforms can be used for jobhunting, offering direct access to employment and employers.” However, it is vital that these platforms are accessible from the outset. For platforms that are used for job mediation, this raises the issue of whether persons with disabilities should inform about their disability and any disability-related needs. This raises ethical and data protection issues, which require more reflection.”

Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications can create important opportunities for persons with disabilities if they are designed for all but, if not, they may encompass considerable threats to the employment of persons with disabilities, the Fundación ONCE and ILO Global Business and Disability Network joint publication points out. “An example of these threats is the AI-based software used by some large companies to support recruitment processes, which filters candidates prior to any human intervention. Some of this software has been criticised for leading to the exclusion of candidates because of their disability. In this regard, legislation on protection from discrimination regarding new forms of technology is essential to ensure human rights are guaranteed in this transformation.”

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are creating new opportunities in society and in the labour market. “It is important that these technologies are widely available and form part of the catalogue of reasonable accommodations to be provided by employers and training institutions,” the Fundación ONCE and ILO Global Business and Disability Network joint publication noted. “ICT can also be helpful in raising awareness of the solutions that exist and contribute to ensuring that the most appropriate adjustments are provided for each person depending on their individual needs and actual job.”

Remote Work as Further Enabler of Inclusion

The recent pandemic has very famously made remote working significantly more common. One main advantage that remote working has displayed is the flexibility that comes with it, and this flexibility can provide an additional boost to the inclusion of disabled people in the workforce. Schur et al. [iii] in an academic paper available online published in 2020 affirmed that “flexibility is of particular value for people who have physical or mental impairments that make it more challenging to work in traditional workplace settings, as well as for those who care for young infants or older relatives. Reducing commuting time and expense is valuable for all workers, and it may be especially beneficial for people with mobility impairments who find it difficult or costly to travel outside the home.”

Remote working can have benefits for those with health issues that require frequent breaks from work, such as those with mental or cognitive issues who can benefit from being away from a stressful environment, or who need to remain close to medical equipment and therapeutics at home, according to Schur et al. “It may also help people who have recurring medical appointments, unpredictable flare-ups of their conditions, or other issues that make working consistently at a job site difficult, if not impossible.”

According to the 2015 ILO report, it is the social enterprise sector that may offer significant possibilities for new employment opportunities for persons with disabilities: “For this to happen, adequate specialist support and advice would need to be available from government and businesses; adequate training would need to be provided for managers and staff; measures to facilitate access to finance would need to be introduced and an enabling legal and policy environment be created.”

Corporate Social Responsibility

Schur et al. (2020) point out that while the Covid-19 pandemic was a severe blow to many workers, it may eventually provide a silver lining for some workers with disabilities if, as a consequence of the pandemic, work from home becomes easier and more acceptable. Schur et al. have assessed the potential for the pandemic to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities by analysing pre-Covid data on disability and home-based work from three main data sources: the American Community Survey, American Time Use Survey, and Current Population Survey.

“We find that workers with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities both to work primarily from home and to do any work at home,” Schur et al. comment. “While workers with disabilities are currently more likely to be working primarily from home, only 34% are in occupations with high potential for home-based work, compared to 40% of workers without disabilities.”

Remote working, especially for people with disabilities, is likely here to stay. The very fact of working from home, however, can risk compounding the isolation of disabled individuals as there can be a lack of rapport with the rest of the team. The workplace, even if a virtual one, should continue to be made more accessible and supportive of disabled workers. This is important also because disabled workers are deeply valued by their colleagues.

According to Maria Barreto (2020) [iv], the integration of people with disability in the workforce is one expression of corporate social responsibility that can have important positive impacts. “People feel they work in a supportive environment, where predominant care for peers with disabilities exists and where, due to the general clime, people also feel encouraged to provide that care. That support, though, comes, spontaneously and naturally (and informally) from individuals and groups,” she said.

The study by Barreto found that the relation between persons with disabilities and their colleagues is in general a positive one. “Individuals deeply value colleagues with disabilities and the relation they have with them, which can be characterised as strong, complacent, and attentive.”

According to Barreto one strategy to provide for the continuing inclusion of disabled workers in the workforce is through team building. This kind of initiative can help improving communication, participation, coordination, and cooperation. “Additionally, there are favourable characteristics for an inclusive organisation culture, where companies should invest on. Flexibility (e.g., flexible work schedule and time off), collectivism (shared goals and group rewards) and participation (feedback tools) are the main examples.”

Mentoring can also be a valuable initiative, as it is not only positive for the people with disabilities but also for the mentor - e.g., a colleague, observed Barreto. “It gives the employee a sense of responsibility and involves him in the work. However, close attention should be paid to mentoring practices, where the focus should be also on the mentor to avoid job or stress overload.”

[i]

Making the future of work inclusive of people with disabilities,

http://www.businessanddisability.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/PDF_acc_FoW_PwD.pdf

[ii]

International Labour Office – Geneva, Decent work for persons with disabilities: promoting rights in the global development agenda,

https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_430935.pdf

[iii]

Schur, L.A., Ameri, M. & Kruse, D. Telework After COVID: A “Silver Lining” for Workers with Disabilities?. J Occup Rehabil 30, 521–536 (2020).

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-020-09936-5

[iv]

Maria Barreto, Positive and negative effects of CSR: The case of disabled workers integration in the Portuguese context

https://repositorio.ucp.pt/bitstream/10400.14/31121/1/1512118381_MariaSB_DPDFA.pdf