The Future of Education

Besides being essential for economic and personal growth,work is one of the factors that allows the social inclusion of disabled people [1].The Italian law requires employers to hire a percentage of disabled workers, legislation in itself is unable to ensure their effective inclusion in companies [2].Research shows that the main factors affecting the inclusion of disabled people in organizations are personal traits,environmental factors and organizational characteristics[3-4].Disability management analysis has focused on the issue of matching companies’ productivity goals with the needs of workers through “reasonable accommodation” conceived as an interactive process involving employee, employer and colleagues [5].Recent studies highlight that employers’ attitudes towards inclusion play a key role in ensuring the successful integration of disabled people at work.The literature emphasizes some important issues:Understanding of disability[6];Size and type of activities;Organizational culture [7-8];Attitudes,previous experience;Negotiation of accommodation [9].Our research aims to identify the elements that influence the hiring of disabled people and facilitate their inclusion in the workplace.Focusing on a sample of small and medium size Italian companies , we interviewed employers and employees and examined the factors which ease or hinder successful job placement. Moreover, through the analysis of two case studies we classified the key elements facilitating the matching between employers and workers within organizations.Finally,we offer practical suggestions for improving the management of the hiring experience.We adopted a mixed-methods approach in the investigation, using three instruments:A questionnaire sent to all the companies that hired a disabled worker in the past year,In-depth interviews  with 30 employers and disabled workers during the hiring process.The collected data have analyzed using the interpretative phenomenological approach.The results have been subsequently retuned with the participants using the Delphi method.Two longitudinal case studies offered the opportunity of investigating the various stages of the hiring process.We followed the career path of two workers (one with physical disabilities,the other one with mental problem) from the first employment application to the end of the trial period into a supermarket. Moreover,we analyzed how supervision activity is managed, carrying out direct observations,collecting accounts from the supervisors, and investigating the methods they adopt to introduce accommodation in the workplace.Finally,we introduced two experimental tools addressed to ease the companies in managing the hiring process of disabled people: a battery of indicators directed to assess the level of inclusiveness of the workplace;and a set of operational guidelines for improving the interaction with disabled workers.Our research shows that employers’ attitudes play a key role in influencing decisions which are crucial in hindering or promoting the effective inclusion of disabled workers. Such decisions apply to five organizational and educational areas of intervention:Management of the recruitment process,Placement of the employee,Evaluation of the worker,Membership of the organization, Introduction of accommodations.To date,few attempts have been done to develop educational strategies aiming to support employers in dealing effectively with these critical decisions.Our inquiry suggests that promoting employers’ training through the extensive use of indicators and guidelines would be highly beneficial for helping them to plan and put into practice an inclusive workplace, so ensuring a high quality work experience for all.

1. Blustein, D. L. (2008)  The role of work in psychological health and well-being: A conceptual, historical, and public policy perspective. American Psychologist, 63, 228–240

2.   Bruyère  S., Erickson W.,  Ferrentino, J. (2003) Identity and disability in the workplace. William and Mary Law Review, 44(3), 1173-1196.

3. Felfe, Christina, and Rafael Lalive. Early child care and child development: for whom it works and why. No. 536. SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research, 2013.

4. Stone, D.A, Colella, A., (1996) A model of factors affecting the treatment of disabled individuals in organizations. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 21, 352-401.

5. Heerkens, Y., (2004) The use of the ICF to describe work related factors influencing the health of employees. Disability and Rehabilitation, vol. 26(17), 1060-1066.

6. Geisen T., Harder, H. (2008), Disability Management and Workplace Integration, University Press

7. Barnes C., Mercer G., Shakespeare, T., (1999) Exploring Disability: A Sociological Introduction. Polity Press, Cambridge.

7. Lodato M.A. (2008), “Going with your gut: an investigation of why managers prefer intuitive employee selection”, PhD Dissertation Abstracts International.

8. Davidson J., (2011) A Qualitative Study Exploring Employers' Recruitment. Behaviour and Decisions: Small and Medium Enterprises, Leeds. Department for Work and Pensions, Research Report No 754.

9. Hartnett HP, Stuart H, Thurman H, Loy B, Batiste LC (2011) Employers’ perceptions of the benefits of workplace accommodations: reasons to hire, retain and promote people with disabilities. J Vocat Rehabil. 2011;34(1):17–23.