By working to eliminate stigma and educating both employees and managers, HR leaders can foster a culture of inclusion and support for disabled and neurodivergent employees.
By Maggie Mancini
As with all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, disability inclusion is about more than just hiring individuals with disabilities, chronic health conditions, or those who are neurodivergent. Advancing disability inclusion within an organization means understanding and subsequently addressing the unique needs of disabled employees, improving accessibility, and taking steps to make workplaces safe and inviting for all.
Deloitte’s inaugural Global Disability Inclusion at Work Report finds that while respondents report experiencing a range of difficulties performing certain activities at work, they do not always self-identify as having a disability, chronic health condition, or being neurodivergent. However, this lack of self-identification does not always impact workplace disclosure, with nearly nine in 10 respondents having disclosed a disability, chronic health condition, or being neurodivergent to someone at work—with most disclosing to HR or to their direct supervisor, the report finds.
For those who have opted not to disclose their disability to their employer, one-fifth cite concerns about discrimination as a key reason. The same amount of people say they have been discriminated against by a previous employer after disclosing. Further, one-quarter of respondents who have disclosed their disability, neurodivergence, or chronic health condition at work have also requested accommodations to help them manage difficulties.
Disabled employees who haven’t requested accommodations cite not needing them (43%), believing their supervisor would react negatively to the request (20%), and believing that it would not be granted (20%) as their reasons not to ask.
Almost three-quarters of respondents (74%) who have requested accommodation, however, say that they have had at least one request rejected, while just under 20% have had all their requests rejected, the report finds. Even more, 41% of respondents say their employers cited cost as the reason for rejecting the request, while around three in 10 say they were told that the request would be too unreasonable or difficult to implement.
“The workplace accommodations that showed higher acceptance rates are the ones that tend to come without cost or cost less. They are also the ones most likely to be requested. These include adjustments to your work schedule, taking frequent breaks, working from home when needed, and access to a private or enclosed working space,” says Emma Codd, global chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Deloitte. “Those that are declined are more likely to be very specific to individual needs, such as assistive technology, which are the least likely to be requested.”
Codd explains that some of the reasons why disabled employees aren’t asking for accommodations even when they need them—because they are worried about how they’ll be treated by their supervisor, they don’t know how to request, they assumed it would be rejected, or they had a bad experience with a previous employer—provide key insight into how HR and business leaders can make meaningful changes.
“It’s important that HR leaders are really focusing on disability inclusion and tackling stigma, educating, making sure that managers and supervisors understand the importance and the benefit of disability inclusion and of neurodiversity, and, as an organization, break those barriers down separately,” Codd says.
Leaders should have regular conversations about what accommodations are available and communicate those options to employees along with explaining how the accommodations request system works to ensure that they know how to communicate their needs to their employer.
“We realized that leaders, managers, and supervisors are reluctant to have those conversations with disabled employees because they’re worried about saying the wrong thing,” Codd says. “Even having a simple how-to guide around has really helped facilitate those discussions.”
For many disabled or neurodiverse employees, remote working arrangements can be beneficial, as their homes are often more accessible than traditional office spaces. However, the report finds that just over two in 10 respondents say that their supervisors prefer that they work in the office even though working from home is an option for them. Further, 39% of respondents say they avoid working from home in these cases because they are worried about missing out on professional opportunities.
Additionally, six in 10 respondents say they have been unable to attend some work events and off-site meetings due to accessibility issues, the report finds. The most cited barriers include lack of accessible restrooms (35%), lack of breaks in the agenda (33%), and being unable to bring a service animal (20%). Codd explains that embedding disability inclusion into workforce planning and improving communication with disabled employees can help ensure that everyone has the same opportunities when it comes to moments that matter.
Deloitte’s inaugural report on disability inclusion in the workplace includes several steps that employers can take to make meaningful progress on disability inclusion. These include the following:
- make disability inclusion a leadership priority;
- ensure that managers and leaders understand the importance of disability inclusion and enable employees to do their best work;
- embed accessibility into every part of the employee lifecycle;
- provide accommodations when they are needed, keeping the application process timely and stigma-free; and
- foster a disability-inclusive company culture.
