Outline

6

Topic: Providing People with Disabilities Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace.

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Providing People with Disabilities Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace.

Introduction:

The Office for National Statistics shows that the number of disabled people working in a different organizations has increased and was estimated at 4.8 million by March 2022. This number seems to continue raising, indicating that disability is not inability. This study revealed that disabled employees are diverse and heterogeneous. Therefore, organizations need to recruit more disabled people to make the workplace more inclusive. The study aims to discuss the work-life experiences of disabled workers since many organizations are currently embracing their input and promoting equality and inclusion. The study will also identify ethical challenges experienced by disabled employees at work and provide relevant solutions. This does not mean that disabled employees need special treatment, but be supported and provided with the necessary facilities to assist and help them perform their daily duties. This is true because some organizations are recruiting based on individual qualifications without considering if the potential candidates are disabled or not. Business & Legal Reports (2001) suggests that a productive workplace has an inclusive culture. This study acknowledges that providing people with disabilities reasonable accommodations in the workplace is a smart move because it will make them productive.

Background:

Weber (2010) suggests that accommodation is considered reasonable if it does not create an undue hardship or a direct threat. Therefore, employers need to consider the request made by a disabled employee to provide reasonable accommodation. Some of the major factors that shaped attitudes toward this topic include, first, the physical environment since sometimes it is not accessible. Second, technological because some organizations lack assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices. Third, social since some community members have a negative attitude toward disability. Fourth, political because many organizations have policies that don’t exist or that hinder the involvement of disabled employees. Therefore, this topic is relevant today because it aims to promote equal opportunity in recruitment and make it possible for qualified individuals with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities.

Ethical Challenges:

One of the major ethical dilemmas for disabled workers is performance problems. The dilemma is whether to punish them when they fail to meet performance expectation or to leave it just because they have a disability. Cavanagh et al (2017) argue that despite the good track record kept by an employee with a disability, they are more likely to experience job performance problems. Sometimes supervisors or human resources staff get confused when trying to handle disabled employees legally and ethically. Employment Opportunity Commission expects employers to hold disabled employees to the same performance standards as any other employee.

Solutions.

The ethical challenge identified in this study is performance problems among disabled employees because of their nature. Lindeman (2009) suggests that employers are likely to engage in different unethical activities at work, especially when dealing with disabled employees. For instance, they can direct disabled employees to continue working even if the work environment is unfavorable. This is not how it's supposed to go, instead, the employer is supposed to create a collegial work environment. Such an environment promotes respect among all employees and fosters good work ethics.

There are a few scenarios where employers lie that some disabled employees are unproductive just because they don't want them there due to their nature. However, disabled employees need to understand that if they perform their duties satisfactorily, their employers are not supposed to take any action against them in the name of poor performance due to their condition. This is because disabled employees are protected by various disability discrimination laws. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, if disabled employees fail to perform well in their duties and an ethical challenge like the one identified in this study arises, the employer can step in and try to solve the issue. Therefore, the first solution to the identified ethical challenge is a dialogue between the disabled employee and the employer. This discussion should be objective and discuss issues related to performance rather than triggering it to issues of having a disability or other medical conditions. For example, discuss how disabled employees behave, perform allocated duties, their attitude while working, and other objective issues.

It is possible to find out that the disability may be limiting the employees to do their duties satisfactorily or as expected. Such a situation leads to an ethical issue in performance and this study recommends employees consider any reasonable accommodation. This is because it can create a conducive working environment for employees with disabilities and allow them to maneuver with their conditions and perform their duties exceptionally. This means that the discussion between the employer and the disabled employee should not focus on withstanding their disability, but on helping the employees perform their daily duties and meet expectations while they are still disabled.

Shields et al (2015) suggest that a reputable organization is as good as its employees, regardless of its size, but one underperforming employee can drag its success and public image down. This is true and also applies to disabled employees because they have roles to play toward the success or failure of their organization. Therefore, another solution to the identified ethical challenge is preventing the problem before it starts. This can be achieved by involving disabled employees in drafting what they are expected to achieve so that they can raise their concerns. The employer can address issues that are within their ability and set goals that are realistic, achievable, and within their ability.

The ethical dilemma on performance among disabled workers can also be solved through regular feedback. Regular performance reviews are important, but when dealing with disabled workers, employers must discuss their performance issues without considering that a formal review will happen. Such discussions should be followed by feedback to help disabled employees improve their performance. Edmondson (2018) suggest that good employers should always be ready to correct their employee when they slip up. This can be done by engaging in performance-related discussions and providing feedback on how to move forward.

Goleman (2017) suggests that it is important to manage poor performance in the workplace because of the benefits realized when every employee performs their jobs on time, to the best of their abilities, and with a great attitude. This is true because when a performance-related ethical dilemma is solved among workers with disability, the entire team can set its expectations together. This can allow workers with a disability to realize their performance expectations, such as the quality of work.

The last strategy for solving the identified ethical dilemma is forming a performance improvement plan. This can involve providing all disabled workers with some guidelines on how they can enhance their performance. For instance, an organization can develop a culture that goes beyond hiring and considering talented disabled candidates. This can reduce the issue of underperforming since every employee will be hired based on merit rather than filling the gap of underrepresentation. Therefore, this strategy should be broad and can also include a performance plan containing new goals on how to improve performance.

Conclusion

The study identified that many organizations are currently embracing the input of disabled employees since it promotes equality and inclusion. The ethical challenge identified in this study is performance problems that exist among disabled employees because of their nature. However, they recommend that this ethical challenge can be solved through a dialogue between the disabled employee and the employer. The dialogue should not focus on withstanding employees' disabilities but on helping them perform their daily duties and meet their expectations while they are still disabled. Other solutions noted include preventing the problem before it starts by involving the disabled employees in drafting what they are expected to achieve so that they can raise their concerns. The study has also discussed how this ethical dilemma can be solved by forming a performance improvement plan. Therefore, the study justifies that this ethical dilemma can be solved by providing the disabled employee with the necessary needs and treating them equally. For instance, provide disabled employees with reasonable accommodations for them to meet the regular performance standards and question them when they underperform.

References

Business & Legal Reports (2001). Managing disabilities in the workplace.

Cavanagh, J., Bartram, T., Meacham, H., Bigby, C., Oakman, J., & Fossey, E. (2017). Supporting workers with disabilities: a scoping review of the role of human resource management in contemporary organizations. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 55(1), 6-43.

Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the Workplace for learning, innovation, and Growth. John Wiley & Sons.

Goleman, D. (2017). Leadership that gets results (Harvard business review classics). Harvard Business Press.

Lindeman, D., (2009). Dealing with Performance issues for disabled employees. HR exchange network.

Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., …. & Robinson, J., (2015). Managing employee’s performance & reward: Concepts, practices, strategies. Cambridge University Press.

Weber, M. C. (2010). Unreasonable accommodations and due hardship.  Fla. L. Rev.,  62, 1119.