¶ … Business Report Advantages of Hiring Disabled Employees

Tax Benefits

Diversity

Corporate Image

Lower Turnover

Legal Matters

Disadvantages of Hiring Disabled Employees

Speed and Productivity

Modifications of Facility Infrastructures and Technology

Discrimination

Schedule Changes

Letter of Transmittal

However, this is not the case as statistics indicate that no significant variances exist. In fact, there are several advantages to hiring disabled individuals, for instance, improved company reputation, loyalty, cost savings and improved productivity.

The purpose of this report is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of hiring disabled employees and subsequently offer recommendations. Initially, the report gives a brief introduction regarding the status of hiring disabled employees in the workplace. The report makes a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of hiring disabled persons in the workplace. The report thereafter concludes with recommendations given towards dispelling the myths on hiring disabled individuals within the workplace. Some of the limitations to this report encompassed the lack of depth in terms of research undertaken for disabled employees in the workplace setting.

Executive Summary

In the contemporary, there continues to be reluctance amongst companies in hiring employees with disability. There are perceived disadvantages to hiring disabled employees. One of the shortcomings is speed and productivity. Generally, disability implies that an employee does not have the capability to operate and work at a pace equivalent to other employees. A second issue encompasses the modifications of facility infrastructure and technology. When companies hire employees with disabilities, they are mandated to make considerable and sensitized accommodations to infrastructures in the work setting for such employees. This might cause interruption in business operations. Another shortcoming is that there might not be enough individuals on site to aid the disabled employee if the modified and transformed infrastructure and technologies become a problem. In addition, scheduling changes are a disadvantage and the company might wind up losing skilled personnel owing to the extent of liability involved in supervision and checking on employees with disabilities.

However, there are numerous advantages in hiring employees with disability. To begin with, the company stands to benefit from increased productivity and output. Another advantage is the diversity within the workforce. This diversity takes into account the distinguishing capability in both mental and physical aspects. There is also increased commitment and decreased turnover from hiring individuals with disability owing to their experiences and upbringing. In addition, companies that employ persons with disabilities are eligible for tax credits that aid in covering the cost of accommodating the employees with disabilities.

Companies that employ persons with disabilities are eligible for tax credits that aid in covering the cost of accommodating the employees with disabilities. Secondly, the company benefits from diversity in employing disabled persons. This diversity takes into account the distinguishing capability in both mental and physical aspects. Another advantage for an organization is increased morale and productivity within the workplace by having a more committed and diverse workforce. An organization also generates a more positive and progressive image. In addition, by being open to and putting programs in place to hire workers with disabilities, the company is assisting to meet the needs of the community. There is also the benefit of lower turnover. In addition, there is lower risk of the company facing a lawsuit, which can have detrimental impacts on the company in terms of financial losses and impairment on the company's image and reputation. In conclusion, the downsides to employing individuals with disability is simply a myth and it is recommended for companies to consider the abilities and talents brought forth by disabled employees and hire them.

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Introduction

Disability within the workplace continues to be a contentious issue in the corporate world. Regardless of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, which is purposed to resolve the issue of high rates of unemployment amongst disabled people, there has been minimal improvement. Indeed, statistics indicate that only about 34% of disabled civilians aged 18-64 years were employed as of 2013, compared to approximately 74% for their non-disabled counterparts (see figure 1) (Stoddard, 2014). Companies are largely hesitant to hire disable employees owing to the perception that individuals with disabilities are costlier in comparison to other people together with the fear that disabled employees are incapable of fully performing...

However, it is imperative to note that disability is not inability and it is not always appropriate to judge the capacity of individuals to deliver work simply based on their apparent shortcomings. The purpose of this report is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of hiring disabled employees and subsequently offer recommendations.
Figure 1: Employment percentages of people with and without disabilities, 2013

Source: Stoddard (2014)

Advantages of Hiring Disabled Employees

Tax Benefits

One of the benefits a company attains from hiring disabled employees encompasses considerable tax benefits. Companies that hire people with disabilities are eligible for tax credits that aid in covering the cost of accommodating the employees with disabilities. This is beneficial to companies as it is a supportive and proven approach for business enhancement and expansion. Some of the tax benefits for companies that have hired employees with disabilities include disabled access credit, barrier removal tax deduction, and work opportunity tax credit (SBA, 2016).

Diversity

In the contemporary, diversity is a key element in the success of companies in the business setting. Diversity management is vital to growth in the intensely competitive global market. In particular, having a diverse workforce makes certain that the company has a talented pool of employees that have the capacity to deal with workloads of different kinds and intensity and any given point in time (Llopis, 2011). Disabled employees provide a dissimilar kind of diversity within the workplace, which encompasses the distinctive capability in both mental and physical aspects. Imperatively, despite the fact that disabled employees might be lacking in terms of their physical capabilities, a great deal of the disabled employees that are mentally sound redress the balance with particular intellectual capabilities (Sravani, 2016). The company also benefits as it strengthens the morale and productivity within the workplace by having a more committed and diverse workforce (Australian Network on Disability, 2016). On a personal level, disabled employees are individuals that have a demonstrated background and upbringing of having faced enormous challenges and therefore can relate to their desire and willpower to work.

Corporate Image

Hiring disabled employees can enhance the corporate image. On a public relations perspective, employing disabled personnel can generate a more positive and progressive image for the company. In particular, the company is able to establish itself as a business that provides equal employment opportunities, does not discriminate, and has a more diverse workforce. In turn, this can cause the company to be more appealing and endearing to prospective employees, consumers and business acquaintances. In addition, this might serve as a form of inspiration for other organizations to follow suit, which leads to a more diverse business setting (Joseph, 2016). Ultimately, this might be a boosting factor for not only the goodwill of the organization, but will also generate an affirmative mindset in the society. Nonetheless, this does not imply that the company should begin recruiting and hiring disabled employees solely for selling a positive image to the society. The recruitment and employment ought to be founded on the eligibility criteria of the job opportunity. The work prospect ought to be equally available to all, devoid of any impartiality. This will be beneficial to the company's assets as it can augment a positive perception and outlook regarding the organization amongst its employees, acquaintances and external parties (Sravani, 2016). For several people, it is imperative to support and stand by companies that are doing their part in offering support to others in the society. Therefore, by being open to and putting programs in place to hire workers with disabilities, the company is assisting to meet the needs of the community (Berkowitz, 2013).

Lower Turnover

Research has indicated that disabled employees have lower rates of absenteeism and lower turnover rates in comparison to other employees. As a result, this might beneficial for the company as it attains cost savings in terms of expenditures incurred in hiring and training sets of new employees. Disabled employees have a preference of undertaking their job effectively, and thus attract minimal complaints from higher authority. What is more, disabled employees are deemed characteristically loyal and are inclined to remain in their prevailing jobs and have a less likelihood of altering their job positions (Berkowitz, 2013).

Legal Matters

Hiring disabled workers can be beneficial to an organization by helping to preclude particular legal issues for the business, for the most part concerns relating to discrimination in the workplace. In addition, by hiring disabled employees, the organizations is…