Accommodating your staff.
- Summary: Providing accommodations for employees with disabilities is easier than you think.
- Who it helps: Employers who are thoughtful about accommodations create a more welcoming environment and prepares the organization and employees for unexpected situations.
- Additional benefits: Being inclusive of people with disabilities expands the number of people you can hire, making sure you can get the best person for the job.
People with disabilities do not only want to patronize your organization. They want to work or volunteer for you, as well. However, your organization may need to provide them with some accommodations so that they can be successful.
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the work processes to enable an individual with a disability to have an equal opportunity to successfully perform their job tasks to the same extent as people without disabilities.
A 2019-2022 study of 3,528 employers by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) found that approximately:
- 49.4% of the reported accommodations cost nothing.
- 43.3% of the reported accommodations had a 1 time cost with a median of $300.
We will note that some accommodations do require ongoing costs, however, most accommodations do not.
JAN is one of the best resources on accommodations in the United States, providing detailed resources. They even have a free live chat online or by telephone to help with understanding and providing accommodations.
There are resources in other countries including:
What can I do?
Take some time this week to research the above resources and explore various accommodations. Consider how your organization could improve to better support current and future employees or volunteers.
Afterwards, challenge your organization to accommodate and utilize more individuals with disabilities.
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