Disability and employment – overview and highlights

Abstract

Due to the expected decline in the working-age population, especially in European countries, people with disabilities are now more often recognized as a valuable resource in the workforce and research into disability and employment is more important than ever. This paper outlines the state of affairs of research on disability and employment. We thereby focus on one particular group of people with disabilities, that is to say people with mental disabilities. We define disability according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organization, by that recognizing that disability results from the interaction of person and environment. Key issues, including the complexity of defining disability, the legal situation in Europe and North America concerning disability at work, and barriers and enablers to employment, are discussed. For each of the topics we show important findings in the existing literature and indicate where more indepth research is needed. We finalize with a concrete research agenda on disability and employment and provide recommendations for practice.

Diversity in the workplace: An overview of disability employment disclosures among UK firms

“…The findings suggest that an effectiveness deficit by UK private sector firms towards this minority stakeholder group (and all interested social constituents) remains (Harlan & Robert, , Hearn & Parkin, ; Vornholt et al, ; Williams, ). The lack of good quality information and its use to demonstrate human capital and social impact persist as disclosure concerns that could seek more direct contributions from PWDs themselves (Waxman, ).…”

“…More specifically, if firm primary stakeholder agendas differ from PWDs concerns (Hughes, ; Mumby, ), this indicates variations in degrees of legitimacy in what is regarded and respected as organizational policy, practice, and initiatives towards the employability of PWDs (Schur et al, ). Thus, better integration, fairness, and consistency, as demonstrable to PWDs in employment, rise as a critical theme of a firm's diversity and sustainability strategies and as a focus for reporting practices (Vornholt et al, ). More meaningful key performance indicators are warranted as a catalyst for endorsing greater quality reporting and inclusive practices as impactful nondiscrimination in the workplace.…”

“…This may feed into formal reporting mechanisms to increase transparency and refine sustainability performance appraisal (Cavanagh et al, ; Hussain et al, ; Williams & Mavin, ). In establishing their commitment to PWDs employment, companies should redefine their diversity management policies and social sustainability goals beyond the presumption that the rights of PWDs are legally protected and therefore should be excluded or disregarded from reported issues (Vornholt et al, ).…”

“…In Turkey, Luxembourg, and Greece, PWDs employment rates are comparatively better. Even within the most highly educated and regulated nations (Priestley, ), the adoption of terms such as equal opportunities, human rights or diversity, and inclusion by organizational systems and processes may represent a deterioration from the expected goals or social desires, indicating failed organizational change (Cannon & Edmondson, ; Tatli, ; Vornholt et al, ; Williams, ), rhizomatic contested approaches to organizational life (Jackson & Carter, ; Reed, ), or corporate governance deviance (Aguilera, Judge, & Terjesen, ). The gap between policy design and firm implementation persists as PWDs face significant barriers to entry in their labor markets (Kulkarni & Lengnick‐Hall, ; Vornholt et al, ).…”

Assessing psychological work demands with an ICF-oriented concept of psychological capacities

“…1 According to the ICF health concept (WHO 2001), work health (problems) can be understood as an interaction between three aspects: a) body functions/dysfunctions, b) activities/capacities, and c) context. The potential value of the ICF concept for work and organizational psychology is discussed in a current position paper (Vornholt et al 2018). The Mini-ICF-APP capacity concept (Linden et al 2015) operationalizes 13 psychological capacities.…”