Commentary
There’s an important distinction between being disabled and having a disability. Disabled is a category label while having a disability is situational and the differentiation is important!
Comedian Josh Blue reminds his audiences that “the disabled community is the largest minority group on the planet . . . and the only minority group you can join at any time.” He urges audiences to keep an attitude that people with disabilities are people first.
In her article, Jill Kislik asserts it’s time to retire the outdated perception of disabled employees as needing wheelchairs or seeing-eye dogs and realize the benefits and opportunity to attract and retain dedicated motivated talent.
“One in four Americans has a disability and 70 percent of disabilities are not [visually] apparent,” according to Disability:IN’s Jill Houghton. A wide range of health conditions or impairments qualify a person as disabled, including loss of hearing, a broken leg from a skiing accident, autoimmune fatigue, the need for regular medical treatments, neurodivergence or having a mental illness.
Source: Forbes, January 17, 2023. Link. The average cost of accommodating an individual with a disability is less than $500. This is quite small when you consider that the average cost per hire is $4,700 and that workers with disabilities need to be replaced less often.
INSIGHTS: Kislik’s discussion of the practicalities of accommodating are important at all levels in an organization. We also noted her comments about remote or WFH opportunities.