Employers are Concerned about Costs: Direct and Indirect

"Businesses are concerned with the bottom line; the benefits must outweigh the cost of employing any group of people" (Kalargyrou, 2012). Business costs manifest in time and money; some business activities are time-consuming, and others result in dollars spent. Below is a list of concerns and misconceptions involving both.

Hiring Complexity

Many employers perceive that hiring employees with disabilities will result in complicated paperwork, dealing with government bureaucracy, and researching accommodations, all of which are time-consuming. Thankfully, VR professionals and their partners can mitigate the time factor by helping employers:

1. 1. identify and procure accommodations, if needed
   2. complete paperwork for hiring incentives and accommodation subsidies

Training Issues

Many employers perceive that training workers with disabilities will be time-consuming. VR professionals and their partners can assist by:

1. 1. helping with the onboarding process
   2. training employees on new work routines and job tasks
   3. providing follow-up assistance to ensure the job is being done according to the employer's expectations

Reasonable Accommodations

Many employers misperceive accommodations as expensive special privileges that could place their business in financial hardship. To establish an accurate understanding, VR professionals must convey the following facts:

• • Accommodations help qualified workers with disabilities perform the job's essential functions, ensuring employment rights equal to—not superior to—those of their non-disabled peers; accommodations are not special privileges.
  • According to the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), most workers with disabilities don't require accommodations to perform their jobs.
  • According to an ongoing survey of employers conducted by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), for those who do require accommodations, about half (56%) cost nothing, and the remaining half has a typical cost of $500 (JAN, 2020).
  • JAN also found that most employers report accommodations are effective and that employers want to provide accommodations because of the direct and indirect benefits, which include:
    • • Retaining valuable employees
      • Increasing employee productivity
      • Increasing employee attendance
      • Increasing workforce diversity
      • Increasing overall company morale
      • Increased customer base
  • The JAN survey results consistently have shown that the benefits employers receive from making accommodations outweigh the costs (JAN, 2020).
  • According to the ADA, businesses with fewer than 15 employees are not covered by the employment provisions. Moreover, employers who are covered do not have to provide accommodations that would cause undue financial hardship for their businesses.

Workers' Compensation Rates

Many employers worry that hiring workers with disabilities will increase their workers' compensation insurance rates. However, insurance rates are based solely on the relative hazards of the operation and the organization's accident experience, not on workers' disability status. Moreover, research reveals that the safety records of workers with disabilities and those without disabilities were identical (Dupont, 1990).

Turnover

For many employers, the perception of workers with disabilities is tied erroneously to poor attendance and a greater likelihood of turnover, both of which are time-consuming and have indirect costs. Placing job postings, scheduling interviews, checking references, onboarding, and training new hires is time-intensive. However, according to Kalargyrou, who conducted a literature review, five of six studies revealed that workers with disabilities stay longer or much longer than their non-disabled peers. For example, one study featuring Pizza Hut's Jobs Plus Program revealed a 20% turnover rate for employees with disabilities compared to a rate of 150% for their non-disabled peers.

Absenteeism

Absenteeism leads to a loss of productivity which affects the bottom line. It also affects the morale of other workers who have to pick up the slack. However, the research reveals that workers with disabilities have comparable or lower absenteeism rates than their non-disabled peers. In one study, people with disabilities were rated above average or average in attendance than people without disabilities (Dupont, 1993). Another study indicated that employees with cognitive disabilities had the same or lower absenteeism rates than their non-disabled peers (Olsen et al., 2001).