As October ends, another National Disability Employment Awareness Month is relegated to the annals of history. While this not only serves as a marker for companies to tout what they’ve done around the areas of disability and employment, it should also serve as a promise to the organization and the communities they serve to do more and continue to innovate to be an employer of choice.
In 2022 we are at a point when we can say that hiring people with disabilities is not only the right thing to do but a business imperative where companies embrace practical strategies and recognize their inherent value as essential to the longevity of their organization. Now is the moment to reassess the various steps that corporate executives need to take to position themselves as true leaders.
A fundamental task going forward is for organizations and their leadership teams to appreciate the changing cultural nuances that are happening during this time of radical transformation. Disability employment is no longer just an issue of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but is critical to the function of human capital management and the evolution of the future of work. Appreciating this element begins by changing the balance of power and fostering a whole new perspective on disability employment awareness and its potency in the digital economy.
Being that the coronavirus pandemic has permanently altered the way we work illustrating the need for new models from hybrid to remote options. Companies are slowly waking up to the idea that the disability experience can teach us valuable lessons about these very ideas that are essential for the development of an evolving work culture. By exploring such areas as reasonable accommodations and accessibility organizations are beginning to delve into a new model of success that impacts every worker for both the present and the next generation. Drawing knowledge from a cohort of workers with disabilities through ongoing consultation around various issues from adaptation, and mental health to workplace design will be a significant decision for companies to make in establishing a healthy work culture regardless of employee’s location.
To position employees with disabilities within this new power dynamic organizations will have to assert a culture that embraces psychological safety. Having a greater sense of care and well-being provides further opportunities for self-disclosure. Finding pathways for disclosure has been a great barrier for employers and employees alike. Reframing the power dynamic illustrates the magnitude that persons with disabilities can play in organizational growth while continuing to galvanize companies with a level of transparency that is essential in the practice of the future of work.
While companies continue to occupy themselves with developing a new framework of work culture, a central element will be to think about creating new mechanisms for upskilling and a pipeline for employees with disabilities to be included within senior management and the ranks of corporate executives. In the United States, 20% of the population are those with disabilities, so it would be safe to say that in the ranks of American business there are numerous C-level executives with various types of disabilities. This also holds true through numerous other countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia as well. The idea is to see the merit of persons with disabilities as a value add to their organization while recognizing that their inherent knowledge through their lived experience offers solutions that are imperative to what corporate success looks like in the digital economy.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month, while it remains an important marker, must continue to evolve as the very nature of work is persisting to do so. Both the disability community and the larger corporate ecosystem must have further dialogue and push the boundaries of what work is and what it will be. The disability community’s lived experience is an important symbol to acknowledge a place of belonging that will shape the ongoing meaning and purpose within the future of business.
This article was written by Jonathan Kaufman on 10/31/2022 for Forbes.com.
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