Most disabilities are hidden and include mental illness and autism
NEURODIVERSITY AND CREATIVE THINKING
There is a common misconception that disability is obvious. In fact, most disabilities are hidden and include chronic health conditions, mental illness and autism.
And while the unemployment rate for those with disabilities is generally high — and many people feel that they have to hide their disability from their employer — the problem is even more serious for adults with autism.
An estimated 80 per cent of those on the autism spectrum are jobless despite having remarkable talents and abilities. This is often because they do not perform well in conventional job interviews. Some organizations, however, such as the German-based multinational software corporation SAP, have long recognized their special skills and aptitudes.
SAP has been employing neurodiverse individuals for over a decade. Its decision to start came from an initiative in India, where a senior manager had a child on the autism spectrum. The Autism at Work programme was piloted in 2012 and later adopted throughout the organization. The programme aims to hire those on the spectrum because of what their different thought processes can add to the business. Also, neurodiverse people often have a natural affinity for science, technology, engineering and maths — all strengths SAP needs for its blue-sky thinking and to stay ahead of the competition.
José Velasco leads SAP’S Autism at Work initiative in North America. He believes the programme helps his organization to be more creative. “If everybody thinks the same way, we’re likely to miss opportunities to bring creative solutions to the market,” he says.
There are currently over 150 people with autism working in SAP across 13 countries in 23 different roles, including software development, customer support, HR and global data protection. The retention rate for employees who have joined the company through the programme is 94 per cent, and SAP’S commitment has inspired about 250 other organizations to ask for guidance on implementing similar programmes.
MAKING THE MOST OF TALENT
Employers often assume that disability means difficulty and cost. Yet, research from AHEAD (the Irish Association for Higher Education Access & Disability) shows that in 60 per cent of cases, there is no additional cost involved in employing someone with a disability.
What it takes is changes in mindset and the recruitment process.
If organizations are willing to spend money to accommodate employees with particular needs, however, the cost is often modest, when compared with the quality of the employees hired as a result. For example, the Dublin office of Enterprise car rental spent around €14,000 to integrate a braille reader into its reservations system technology to accommodate a visually impaired employee. What the company got in return was an enthusiastic young graduate, fluent in two languages.
“The Disability Inclusion Advantage” is a report produced jointly by Accenture, Disability:in and the American Association of People with Disabilities. It makes a strong business case for disability diversity in the workplace and clearly shows that companies that employ and support employees with disabilities outperform their peers. Having a mixed-ability workforce also ensures that new products and services are truly inclusive.
The report points out that in the US alone, there are 15.1 million people of working age living with a disability. However, in the US (as elsewhere), companies have failed to make the most of this potential for three key reasons: a lack of understanding of the scope of the talent available, a poor understanding of the potential benefits and misconceptions about the cost versus the ROI of disability inclusion.
“Persons with disabilities have to be creative to adapt to the world around them,” the report says. “As such, they develop strengths such as problem-solving skills, agility, persistence, forethought and a willingness to experiment — all of which are essential for innovation.”