[Jobs] Disabilities in U.S. Workplaces Rise

[Mary Ann Rojek]

            Disabilities in U.S.
 Workplaces Rise
Experts suggest the number of American workers with disabilities is continuing to
increase. Will the disabled workers pressure employers to implement additional accommodations
for employees?
By Barbara Worthington
It's estimated that Americans with physical or mental impairments may number as many
as 50 million, according to a report issued by a panel at the
Institute of Medicine
, a Washington-based nonprofit medical-advisory organization.
The group says that is a dramatic increase from the past, and the situation will
only worsen because of Americans' unhealthy lifestyles.
Common behaviors, such as poor eating habits, sedentary tendencies and obesity --
which frequently leads to back problems, joint injuries and diseases such as diabetes
-- coupled with longer life expectancies and a variety of mental conditions, may
create problems for employers.
Faced with larger numbers of disabled workers, companies will need to find ways to
accommodate their employees in order to maintain an efficient and productive workforce,
experts say. Sometimes an accommodation may be as simple as offering telecommuting
options or flexible work hours.
"A bad back certainly can be a disability," says Lewis Maltby, president of the National
Workrights Institute in
Princeton, N.J.
 "For individuals whose jobs involve heavy lifting, the company will have to accommodate
them by giving them less strenuous physical work -- if it's available."
Not many conditions, however, meet the statutory definition of a disability under
the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite the adverse effects on workers' abilities,
he says.
"In many cases, employers won't have to make any accommodations because these conditions
don't rise to the level of a disability under the law," he says.
But, such accommodations are not always expensive or disruptive, according to Douglas
Kruse, a professor of Human Resource Management at
Rutgers University in Piscataway,
N.J., who uses a wheelchair himself.
Many such accommodations, he says, are "simply along the lines of flexible work schedules,"
such as alternative schedules, part-time hours or working from home. Some disabled
workers prefer to hold temporary jobs.
Of accommodations that need to be made, "most are either costless or don't have a
real direct monetary cost." He says the university installed an automatic door for
him, along with a "couple of other minor accommodations."
"Obviously, some people with disabilities do require some type of accommodations,"
he says, including "adaptations to the physical environment, such as changing desks
around and special computer equipment, ramps and so forth."
Kruse noted that a recent national survey revealed that of all employers that employ
people with disabilities, only 24 percent reported having to make any accommodations
at all. "Most people with disabilities don't require accommodations -- or just very
minor ones."
Accommodations, however, may create the potential for problems because of perceived
inequities by co-workers, Maltby says. If an employee has a medical problem, his
colleagues will "generally be sympathetic to that employee getting an accommodation."
The difficulty occurs when an employee is being accommodated with a flexible schedule
or telecommuting because of a mental problem.
"It's hard to explain to an employee why she can't telecommute when someone else
is telecommuting because of a disability [that's sometimes self-inflicted]," Maltby
says. "It doesn't change the law; it's still a disability."
Kruse agrees that employees may have concerns about accommodations. He notes that
case studies suggest that companies with cultures that are "responsive to the needs
of all individuals" are much better environments for people with disabilities.
"If a company tries to be responsive to the needs of all employees, then accommodations
for people with disabilities don't really stand out as unusual," Kruse says. "If
a company is more bureaucratic, more rules- and procedures-oriented, then accommodations
really do stand out."
Increasing numbers of disabled workers doesn't necessarily translate into reduced
productivity, according to Kruse. "There's a lot of evidence that disabled people,
assuming they have accommodations, are just as productive as people without disabilities.
Reduced productivity is not a concern."
May 14, 2007
Copyright 2007© LRP Publications
-------------- next part --------------
            Disabilities in U.S.
 Workplaces Rise
Experts suggest the number of American workers with disabilities is continuing to
increase. Will the disabled workers pressure employers to implement additional accommodations
for employees?
By Barbara Worthington
It's estimated that Americans with physical or mental impairments may number as many
as 50 million, according to a report issued by a panel at the
Institute of Medicine
, a Washington-based nonprofit medical-advisory organization.
The group says that is a dramatic increase from the past, and the situation will
only worsen because of Americans' unhealthy lifestyles.
Common behaviors, such as poor eating habits, sedentary tendencies and obesity --
which frequently leads to back problems, joint injuries and diseases such as diabetes
-- coupled with longer life expectancies and a variety of mental conditions, may
create problems for employers.
Faced with larger numbers of disabled workers, companies will need to find ways to
accommodate their employees in order to maintain an efficient and productive workforce,
experts say. Sometimes an accommodation may be as simple as offering telecommuting
options or flexible work hours.
"A bad back certainly can be a disability," says Lewis Maltby, president of the National
Workrights Institute in
Princeton, N.J.
 "For individuals whose jobs involve heavy lifting, the company will have to accommodate
them by giving them less strenuous physical work -- if it's available."
Not many conditions, however, meet the statutory definition of a disability under
the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite the adverse effects on workers' abilities,
he says.
"In many cases, employers won't have to make any accommodations because these conditions
don't rise to the level of a disability under the law," he says.
But, such accommodations are not always expensive or disruptive, according to Douglas
Kruse, a professor of Human Resource Management at
Rutgers University in Piscataway,
N.J., who uses a wheelchair himself.
Many such accommodations, he says, are "simply along the lines of flexible work schedules,"
such as alternative schedules, part-time hours or working from home. Some disabled
workers prefer to hold temporary jobs.
Of accommodations that need to be made, "most are either costless or don't have a
real direct monetary cost." He says the university installed an automatic door for
him, along with a "couple of other minor accommodations."
"Obviously, some people with disabilities do require some type of accommodations,"
he says, including "adaptations to the physical environment, such as changing desks
around and special computer equipment, ramps and so forth."
Kruse noted that a recent national survey revealed that of all employers that employ
people with disabilities, only 24 percent reported having to make any accommodations
at all. "Most people with disabilities don't require accommodations -- or just very
minor ones."
Accommodations, however, may create the potential for problems because of perceived
inequities by co-workers, Maltby says. If an employee has a medical problem, his
colleagues will "generally be sympathetic to that employee getting an accommodation."
The difficulty occurs when an employee is being accommodated with a flexible schedule
or telecommuting because of a mental problem.
"It's hard to explain to an employee why she can't telecommute when someone else
is telecommuting because of a disability [that's sometimes self-inflicted]," Maltby
says. "It doesn't change the law; it's still a disability."
Kruse agrees that employees may have concerns about accommodations. He notes that
case studies suggest that companies with cultures that are "responsive to the needs
of all individuals" are much better environments for people with disabilities.
"If a company tries to be responsive to the needs of all employees, then accommodations
for people with disabilities don't really stand out as unusual," Kruse says. "If
a company is more bureaucratic, more rules- and procedures-oriented, then accommodations
really do stand out."
Increasing numbers of disabled workers doesn't necessarily translate into reduced
productivity, according to Kruse. "There's a lot of evidence that disabled people,
assuming they have accommodations, are just as productive as people without disabilities.
Reduced productivity is not a concern."
May 14, 2007
Copyright 2007© LRP Publications