Workplace Barriers for Employees with Disabilities and How to Remove Them

People living with disabilities make up over 25% of the US population and worldwide are the largest minority group. If your company or organization has barriers to employment for disabled people, it’s likely missing out on a wide range of talent. 

Barriers to employment can exist in a business but be overlooked due to many issues. You may not even be aware of them. The good news is that most workplace barriers for employees with disabilities don’t have to be expensive, time-consuming, or difficult to remove. 

Innovating to accommodate people with disabilities is not new. Companies that are good at adapting and evolving often perform better than their competitors that don’t. Remember, for many companies, disabled people are customers, too. 

Every disability has a set of circumstances driving an innate problem-solving agenda and a unique way of looking at the world. It is a resource that businesses can ill afford to dismiss. 

Common Barriers for People with Disabilities 

The most common barriers to working with an organization for people with disabilities include a lack of physical accessibility, i.e., wheelchair ramps, to digital issues such as using websites that do not enable screen readers. 

Limited Job Opportunities 

People with disabilities may be limited to low-paying, low-skilled roles where the work is structured around simple assembly or packaging jobs. In some cases, it may be because an employer can’t see past the disability and only accommodates a disabled person’s perceived limitations. 

It can hold back the potential achievements of someone who could receive training and advance within an organization. 

Research evidence exists that supports the charge that employers retain pessimistic attitudes toward the abilities of disabled people in the workplace. 

Biases in the Hiring Process 

Getting a job can be tough, especially when someone is up against an unconscious bias. It is essential to train managers and others responsible for recruiting, to acknowledge biases.  

• Leveling the playing field for applicants may mean not specifying educational requirements. 

• Disabled people are three times as likely to have no recognized educational qualifications as those without a disability. 

• Rather than discount a large pool of potential talent, you could make the hiring specification skills-based instead. 

• People with disabilities also have lower rates of tech adoption for some devices, which may make some application processes less accessible. Consider offering a paper-based alternative. 

Stigma Around People with Disabilities 

Some people find differences difficult to deal with, but most of us work in diverse workplaces in other respects. A key part of destigmatizing disability is to be open about discussing disability and its impacts and opportunities. 

Workplace discrimination can be subtle, but noticeable enough to those with disabilities that they will mask their condition if it is not visible. In a report published by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) up to 30% of employed people fulfil federal criteria that identify them as disabled. 

Making sure there is a balance between what a person can earn so that it doesn’t impact the help they receive, could be as simple as giving them access to overtime, or a promotion. 

Limited Access to Education and Training 

As well as limiting employment options, failing to see beyond a person’s disability may see them passed over for other opportunities. Focus on an employee’s abilities rather than their disabilities to open up potential for their development. 

Seeing a person with disabilities access, and succeed at training and development, can inspire all employees to engage with a professional program. 

How to Remove Barriers for Employees with Disabilities 

The good news is that the path to removing barriers for employees with disabilities is pretty straightforward. All it takes is a little thought, awareness, and engagement with the subject. 

Audit Your Hiring Policies 

Are your hiring policies up to scratch? It is a good idea to review them regularly to ensure they align with the company strategy regardless. If you don’t currently have targets for levels of diversity and inclusion, then hiring managers are going to be less aware, and pay less attention to the potential of people with disabilities. 

Part of the hiring process should offer an opportunity for applicants to disclose any disability. Do they require particular access arrangements? 

Review Your Job Descriptions 

Take a look at your job postings. Are you using neutral language to describe the role? A top tip is to keep the job description as simple as possible. 

• Avoid using jargon, or idioms that could be misunderstood, or misinterpreted. 

• Accentuate the abilities required to do the work. 

• Talk about the company culture, environment, and team structure. 

• Focus on the end outcome of the role, rather than the method. 

• If you present limitations, you immediately shrink the pool of talent you attract. 

• Being prescriptive about the amount of experience required to perform a role could also exclude any number of ideal candidates, who may be adaptable, quick studies. 

Provide Accessible Job Postings  

Your job posting could also be made more accessible on your company website. Signpost it so that people with disabilities can see that you are positively reaching out to engage with them. 

• Screen readers allow low-vision and blind people to hear content on your website 

• Keyboard navigation helps users navigate a web page without needing a mouse. 

• Accurate closed captioning makes video presentations accessible to those applicants who may be hard of hearing. 

• Text-zoom capability makes scrolling and accessing information easier for vision-impaired people. 

• Posting a vacancy on a job board that has a customizable interface, i.e. a user's ability to change contrast, font size, or color, can help. 

Document remediation is an important way to guarantee your hiring strategy is compliant with assistive technology. Make sure your attached, downloadable PDF documentation can be accessed by all users of your website. 

Provide Interview and Assessment Accessibility 

A key part of the hiring strategy for inclusive employers is to make interview locations and assessment criteria accessible. It might mean locating the interviews close to public transportation links. 

It could be that assessment criteria are communicated ahead of time so candidates can take time to research, engage, and fully understand what is required. 

Ensure the Workplace is Physically Accessible 

This is disability accommodation 101. The first step is to eliminate steps, or stairs that might deter mobility-restricted individuals from entering your premises. 

• Install a wheelchair ramp for those with restricted mobility. 

• Install an automatic door system to allow ease of entry and exit to your building. 

• Print signs and notices with Braille accompaniment to aid wayfinding. 

• Make sure e there is adequate lighting, contrasting wayfinding, and clear access. 

Provide Reasonable Accommodations 

What does a reasonable accommodation look like? It could be something as simple as software, or a compatible loop for those with a hearing issue. 

• Adjustable height ergonomic desks are available that can be set to the height of a person’s wheelchair. 

• A fifteen-minute break could be split into three five-minute breaks over a work period. 

• Noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs help eliminate distractions and background noise. 

• Make sure jobs are set out with clear steps, with visual reminders or checklists. 

• Provide access to unpaid leave or adjust a work schedule to accommodate the time required to manage a condition. 

• A job can be restructured so that responsibilities are shared or redistributed through a team. 

Offer Disability Awareness Training to All Staff 

To counter unconscious bias, or received ideas of what a disability can mean, awareness training can help. Training experienced staff as mentors or buddies to new employees can be extended to take on managing the requirements of disabled employees. 

Inclusion of people with disabilities demonstrates to all employees that diversity in the workplace is appreciated and dignity at work is a key value for the business. 

Managers and supervisory staff play an important role in any employee's level of job satisfaction. If they are properly educated, informed of the issues, empowered, and supportive, you can ensure that every member of staff feels valued. 

Offer Flexible Work Arrangements 

Many businesses face deadlines. How an employee gets there is less important than the actual delivery on time of a product or service. Flexible working arrangements such as hybrid office attendance and leveraging remote meeting technology can go a long way toward accommodating many people with disabilities. 

Build a Culture where People Feel Safe to Disclose Their Disability 

Not all disabilities are visible, and some disabled people are successful at masking so that they may pass as non-disabled. It might be learned behavior to avoid prejudice or conflict, but it could hold them back, denying them access to minor modifications that could improve their productivity within a team. 

Disabled people are the same as anyone else in that they want to feel valued and safe in the workplace. 

Talk about disability, the impacts on the workforce, and any changes that may be required. The best way to address unwanted stigma, or taboos, is to create a culture where they can be discussed freely. 

Prioritize Hiring Employees with Disabilities, Especially in Leadership Positions 

Targeting the diverse experience that disabled employees can bring to a business is as simple as reaching out to college career centers, attending university job fairs, or talking to community leaders. 

Check your company literature to ensure it has disability-positive messaging, i.e. remove terms such as differently abled, or special needs. 

Provide Opportunities for Career Growth 

A company that offers a clear path for development to all employees often has a higher retention rate. With disabled employees able to develop and attain leadership roles, it sends a message across the workforce that they are part of a meritocracy. 

People with disabilities are often excellent problem solvers, faced as they are with an ableist world where everything seems to have been designed to thwart their progress. By giving all employees the opportunity to progress and develop within an organization, it sends a message that there are no barriers to competence and ambition. 

Encourage Open and Respectful Communication with Employees 

Being honest, open, respectful, and inclusive in your communication with employees is a sure way to maintain high levels of worker retention. When making decisions that might affect disabled employees, ensure they are central to any discussion of what the changes mean in practice.