Optimising employee ability in small firms: Employing people with a disability

Abstract

The axiom that workers with a disability are less productive is not tenable. It is exposed by the results reported here as a myth. In this paper we outline from a practitioner perspective the benefits to be gained by employing people often regarded as poor employees because of a disability. The paper initially presents a range of normative suggestions in support of the proposition that employees with disabilities are not detrimental to a small firm and indeed offer more positive benefits than negative outcomes. We then confirm the validity of the suggestion – that people with disabilities may make better workers – by outlining research findings that support that proposition. These suggestions may impact on employment policies; researchers are encouraged to challenge the assumptions we make and provide more concrete evidence to support or refute our suggestions. Enhanced employment of workers with a disability can and will create a more diversified, harmonious and productive workforce where sustainable business, sustainable ecology and sustainable human relations are indivisible components of the same necessity.

Keywords:

• employment productivity
• disabled employees
• employee ability
• employment policy