1 Background to the Book
In this book, we consider the questions of what are good practices and what functions do they have in different sociocultural contexts? We point to the fact that good employment practices in the area of disability are directly linked with the issue of vocational activation of people with disability. These issues have to be analysed together in order to develop or assess existing good practices. For example, if good practices in the area of recruitment are to be effective, people with disabilities need to be motivated enough and consider themselves capable enough, to participate in the recruitment process.
We point to the various aspects of sociocultural context that have an impact on the shape and effectiveness of good practices and develop a multivariate, multidimensional model of factors influencing the professional activation and employment of workers with disabilities. The model may also be applied when developing or analysing good practices.
This book grew out of and was inspired by a research project carried out in the years of 2012â2014 dealing with the employment of disabled workers in Poland and across Europe in relation to good practices applied by employers. In the original project, the data analysis published in 2014 (Giermanowska 2014) deals with, above all, the level of the organisations. Here, we consider the problem of good practices in relation to disability, in a wider social and cultural context, including, but not limited to, the organisational one.
The book is largely organized around the following areas, the overview of which is presented below: disability, employment and good practices.
2 Disability
How disability is defined in society and the state has a direct impact on the position and role of the disabled, and any obligations that might exist towards them. As is apparent from the analysis presented in Chapter 2 of this book, what we are currently observing is a dynamic shift in the perception of disability and the disabled as a social group, especially in terms of employment. The language used in relation to disabled workers by employers, HR managers but also policy makers are changing from that of minority protection to diversity management of the workforce. In a similar fashion, the accent is changing from oppression, exclusion and dependency, towards the agency of people with disabilities, self-determination, dignity and independence. This does not mean of course that exclusion or dependency has been eradicated, as evidenced by, e.g., employment statistics, but that people with disabilities play an openly active role in shaping and changing their situation for the better and that their rights as citizens and workers are to be protected, promoted and respected by law and by employers.
This shift in the discourse somewhat obscures the fact that workers with disabilities form a very diverse group, that despite many improvements made recently, remains to some degree vulnerable. This applies particularly to people with intellectual disabilities, but not exclusively. Therefore, certain some of care needs to be extended in order to ensure their rights and protect from discrimination and abuse. That is somewhat problematic, as there exists a certain asymmetry between equality, which we strive for, for all of the workers, and care (see Tronto 2013), which results in mixed messages regarding the employment and treatment of workers with disability. On the one hand, we speak of equal opportunities, on the other, we formulate certain solutions created particularly in order to promote and protect disabled people at work , e.g. the quota system or good practices dedicated to workers with disabilities. One of the ways of dealing with this dissonance is to place all measures associated with the promotion and protections of disabled workers within the wider framework of diversity management, which by definition applies to all the workers. Good diversity management in part depends in convincing managers and employees that special measures applied in case of certain categories of workers benefit not only these workers, but everybody within the organisation and the society at large. However, this might not be easy, as the perception of people with disabilities and their position in society in general, and work environment in particular depends on multiple factors, as we explore in Chapter 3.
3 Employment
Work is one of the contexts in which people with disabilities may exercise their agency and gain economic independence, and especially in case of work on the open labour market, may participate in the wider social setting, which in the long run, might lead to normalization of disability. This makes employment of workers with disability priceless, as it benefits them and society on many different levels. Just as there are multiple factors influencing vocational activation and employment of people with disabilities, there are multidimensional and multi-level consequences of their employment (e.g. economic, social, psychological, health-related). This is of particular importance given the growing number of people with disabilities present in society.
The multivariate conditions affecting the employment of disabled workers discussed in Chapter 3 find their loci in workplaces. It is here that we see a meeting point of the major factors that matter: prejudice among co-workers and managers, ignorance of employers related to disabilities, legal obligations, possible sources of support or existing practical solutions, inflexibility of labour law, lack of flexibility and cooperation between various institutions meant to support people with disabilities, including health and rehabilitation facilities, limited qualifications of some disabled workers due to, e.g., limited access to education and training, sociocultural norms related to expectations as to what the disabled can and cannot achieve, and the quality of their work. But it is also workplaces and related organisations (including trade unions) that are the potential sites of developing practical solutions to the many obstacles present in employment of people with disabilities. It is at this level that both employers and employees must deal with uncertainty related to the employment of disabled workers, arising mostly out of ignorance and excessive focus on what people with disabilities cannot manage, rather than what they are capable of.
As the approach to disability changes within the society, so do the opportunities open to people with disabilities. In the past, access to education and training was limited due to various factors, now there is a growing number of better or even highly qualified people with disabilities. While the awareness of employers and readiness to employ workers with disabilities still lags behind the supply of qualified disabled workers, there is a growing recognition of disability as advantageous at work (Giermanowska et al. 2015). At the same time, the world of work and technological possibilities are rapidly evolving. On the one hand, what we mean by work is subject to change. On the other, new technological innovations mean that the impact of certain types of disability on the ability to work is decreasing. Both these factors that we touch upon in Chapter 3 have a positive impact on the position of disabled people at work and may be taken advantage of when designing company policy related to diversity management. This is of growing importance, particularly in Europe, given its decreasing and ageing population, and the growing number of highly qualified, educated and motivated people with disabilities.
4 Good Practices at Work
It is at this moment that we need to make absolutely clear that employment alone of workers with disabilities does not need to constitute good practice. Just as able-bodied workers, people with disabilities are in need of a meaningful employment according to their skills, capabilities and potential, leading to a dignified life, which at the same time needs to coincide with the interests of the employer.
This means, as we explore in Chapter 4, that on the one hand organisations need comprehensive adjustments of their practices on every level of human resource management (recruitment, induction, training and development, team building, reasonable adjustments, etc.), to meet the first condition mentioned above. At the same, good practices need to be considered in the wider organisational context, including the benefit to the organisation itself and the motivations for developing good practices. These might be linked with such things as corporate social responsibility and company branding, but equally they might be related to legislation requiring the equal treatment of workers on the labour market, and dwindling labour supply in certain areas.
As is apparent from the analysis of multivariate conditions in Chapter 3 and good practices presented in Chapters 4 and 5, if the solutions are to be effective and of benefit to everybody concerned, in their creation, assessment and implementation people from different levels of the company, including workers with disabilities, need to be engaged, as well as experts from outside organisations, specializing in supporting the employment of workers with disabilities given the local sociolegal and cultural context. This means that effective good solutions are usually tailor-made for particular organisations existing in particular contexts, which makes their direct transfer to other companies difficult. At the same time, it must be noted, their existence alone, especially in international corporations, leads to greater awareness of the fact they are needed, and therefore a more open attitude to their development and implementation, in various sites where such corporations operate. Moreover, because of the movement of workers, especially from the level of management, between companies, sectors and countries, the know-how related to the creation of good practices is spreading.
5 The Structure of the Book
The book, although written by academics, is directed towards a wider audience than merely an academic one. We wrote this book bearing in mind that a growing number of people, such as employers, managers of HR departments, organisations representing disabled persons, trade unions or representatives of self-government authorities, are actively engaged in planning, designing and implementing solutions related to the employment of people with disabilities and need to do it well. Some of them are experts in general HR management, while some are highly knowledgeable about the issues of rights and needs of disabled people, but we believe relatively few have a comprehensive knowledge of both disability issues and good business and HR practice. Which is why we include both a chapter on the concept of disability per se and in relation to employment and a chapter dealing with good business practice in relation to employment of people with disabilities. To this, we add a chapter (Chapter 3) that we believe to be a very useful roadmap in appreciating and understanding the wider social and cultural context and conditions affecting the employment of workers with disabilities. The detailed book structure is as follows.
The aim of Chapter 2, Work and Employment of People with Disabilities: Towards a Social Model, is to present the situation of people with disabilities on the labour market and conditions of contemporary public policy, with particular emphasis on the social and cultural context. Among others, the following issues will be discussed:
- (a)The change of the paradigm defining disability and its institu...