Disability in the workforce

The thesis of the essay is to discuss the disability in the workforce in Europe, America, and Asia. Disability is not inability, and it is against the law to discriminate against specific individuals in the workplace because they have or are assumed to have a disability. Disability discrimination is treating individuals differently while in employment based on their disability, or perceived disability associated with a person with a disability. The common disabilities are available a work include partial or total loss of body function or a part of the body, mental or psychological disorders and diseases, slow learning disorders, and presence of diseases that cause disabilities, disfigurement, and malformation of the body (Bryure, pg. Examples of disability discriminations include discrimination based on mental and physical disability.

In other regions like Latin America and the Caribbean, close to 85% of the disabled people within the working age were unemployed. In the Asian and Pacific Region, the unemployment rate of the disabled is estimated at 80% (Lang, pg. The low unemployment rate of people with disabilities has been associated with a series of attitudinal and organizational barriers that they face when looking and maintaining employment or advancing their careers. One the main reason is the lack of adequate knowledge about disability. They also assume that disabled people have low output and productivity, and the quality of their work is lower compared to non-disable employees. When in charge of organizational units, they are more prone to unfair criticism compared to non-disabled employees.

Generally, the people with disabilities are given fewer opportunities, less pay, limited opportunities for advancement and low-level skill requirement which implies low-grade jobs. The disabled persons are likely to be employed in blue color jobs, the clerical, and technical positions but have less likelihood of getting professional or administrative posts in comparison to people without disabilities. The disabled people also had more difficulty in getting higher professional jobs in private firms than in public institutions. Although education is considered a prime factor for increasing job recruitment and promotion, this is not the case for disabled persons. New projects have been developed to adders the special needs of workers with disabilities. According to CATEA, 75% of disabled employees require some form of architectural or technological modifications, or policy changes to assist them in performing their daily tasks (Arthur, pg.

One assistance system is the Workplace Accommodation Expert Support System or Work ACCESS project. It helps employees to decide on accommodation decisions. It assists different types of disabilities like employees with blindness or handicapped, and work-related conditions like back pains: age-related hearing failure and learning disability. Hiring disabled workers can bring key financial, public and legal benefits for the company and minimizes significant effects of lawsuits. The study indicates that top management is key to factor in the reduction of discriminatory barriers. Regardless of the introduction of many policies, the differently abled people will continue to face challenges at the workplace due to the reluctance of some human resource departments to make detailed steps. Hiring of persons with disabilities and promoting them based on merit helps constructive competition within the workforce.