According to The World Health Organisation, an estimated 1.3 billion people are living with a significant disability, a number representing ...
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According to The World Health Organisation, an estimated 1.3 billion people are living with a significant disability, a number representing 16% of the world's population, or 1 in every 6 people. A disability consists of any condition of the body or mind causing an impairment that makes it more difficult for the person to perform certain activities and interact with the world around them. Some people are born with disabilities whilst others develop them due to the misfortunes of accident or disease. These people find everyday life a much greater struggle than those without disabilities, making routine events and necessities a challenge.
This daily struggle rather unsurprisingly extends to the disabled person's chances of finding a job. Just because a person has a disability doesn't mean that they can't do everything, just certain things, and might be more than capable of excelling at other tasks that would make them an excellent choice for employment! Having faced decades of negative stigma from society in that regard, today disability employment services for employers are matching forward-thinking businesses with disabled persons who have a strong desire to work and achieve, creating what can only be described as a 'win-win' situation! There are many sound benefits to hiring the disabled for the employers as well as the employee.
People with disabilities tend to be very reliable employees with an overall higher job retention rate, they take fewer absent days and are more likely to stay on the job longer than many non-disabled workers. A recent survey showed that overall, employees with disabilities enjoyed a retention rate of 1.7 years, as opposed to the average employee's 0.9 years.
Several studies have shown that employees who have disabilities are significantly less likely to experience work-related accidents, exercising higher performance in maintaining safe practices than their non-disabled counterparts. The disabled employees were more aware of, and dedicated to abiding by safety procedures, and consistently behaved in a more conscientious manner in regards to workplace safety.
Employees who have disabilities increase workplace diversity, which benefits everyone. Individuals who have the opportunity to work alongside disabled employees report that they have become more aware of the value of maintaining a diverse workplace that is accessible and inclusive of everyone. They come to consider and better understand the challenges disabled people face in regards to daily life, and gain a new respect for those that must deal with those constrictions. Disabled employees tend to demonstrate creative problem-solving, and discover new ways of dealing with problems the average worker might not think of. Disabled employees also have important insights into the best way to serve customers who have disabilities.
The surprising thing that non-disabled employers and workers discover is that in most regards people with disabilities are as capable as anyone else! Even with today's extensive non-discrimination laws, far too many employers, misinformed by various myths and misunderstandings about disabled people, maintain discriminatory hiring practices that prevent and discourage the employment of anyone who has a disability. The simple reasons are that they don't think the disabled are capable of properly doing the job or are unaware of the many advances in adaptive techniques and technologies that can help them perform just as well as anyone else, and usually excel!
Australia is dedicated to making sure every citizen is treated fairly, including the disabled, for more information on the legal equal treatment of disabled people click here. If your business is looking to make some new hires, we hope this article will encourage you to consider the many benefits of including disabled people in that process!
