A Literature Review: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY AT WORK
Nowadays, approximately twenty percent of adults aged from 18-55 in the United States are disabled. More than sixty percent of people above 55-years-old are also disabled. However, only one out of two adults with disabilities in USA is employed. In other word, the Americans are wasting 10% working force (Census Bureau Reports). The reason why these 10% people are not hired is that the companies lack the awareness of how disabled people can be beneficial to their business. They tend to perceive that people with disabilities will harm their company because. The rest of the passage will focus on how people with disabilities can especially impact positively on finance profession.
The advantage that people with disabilities can bring to a finical company in more than expected. The article the new green on the economist suggests that disabled people, especially autistics, frequently have unusually high productivity and can focus on repetitive tasks than normal workers (The New Green). Thus, people with disabilities fit perfectly for such position as data analysts or data recorders in a finance company. These works are the basis for the financial company and needs large amount of works and high focus. Normal workers will make mistakes or lose concentration after tedious job.
Besides, company which hires people with disabilities can also be benefit from tax reduction and disabled access credit which provides a non-refundable credit for small businesses that incur expenditures for the purpose of providing access to persons with disabilities (The Advantages of Hiring Disabled People in a Company). A finance company deals with thousands and millions of dollars every day will definitely need the exemption from the tax. It is such a good opportunity to receive both extra money and tax reduction at the same time.
More importantly, hiring people with disabilities can also reduce the risk of a lawsuit and get alliance from the Americans with
Disabilities Act. This advantage is very crucial since the finance company can hardly make more money if it loses its reputation once. Trust is very important among financial companies and their clients.
The government has already realized the importance of the employment of people with disabilities, so they ask business leaders to participate such events as leading practices on disability inclusion to encourage business leaders to involve more people with disabilities in their working environment. For example, Japanese government absorbs people with disabilities into mainstream society by promoting the employment of persons with disabilities. Meanwhile, GlaxoSmithKline KK (GSK), which has a staff of 3,700 people at its Japan branch, took part in a six-month project, which required that they look at the types of jobs people with disabilities are doing in the firm (People with disabilities overlooked and under-hired sector of talent pool). The result turned out to be successful since more companies began to hire people with different disabilities according to the research result.
However, the publicity is apparently not enough. According to New York State Disability Status Report, the employment rate for people with disabilities is 33.1%, compared with 72.3% for people without disabilities, a gap of 39.3%. 28.4% of people with disabilities have an income that falls below the federal poverty level; this is almost 2.5 times the poverty rate for people without a disability. Therefore, the companies may still remain discrimination towards people with disabilities but have not realized the benefit people with disabilities can bring to the companies yet.
In conclusion, people with disabilities can definitely bring such advantage as efficient work, tax reduction, and extra subsidy to a finance company. Many researches and articles state that there is not enough advertisement to help people with disabilities to find jobs, so I highly recommend government or organizations to enhance the publicity.
Work Cited
"The New Green." Economist.com. The Economist Newspaper, 8 Sept. 2012. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
"Tools for Success." The Business Benefits of Hiring People with Disabilities. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Joseph, Chris, and Demand Media. "The Advantages of Hiring Disabled People in a Company." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Waters, Megan. "JapanToday." Japan Today RSS. BCCJ ACUMEN, 3 May 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
"Tax Benefits for Businesses Who Have Employees with Disabilities." Tax Benefits for Businesses Who Have Employees with Disabilities. IRS, 20 June 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013
Von Schrader, S., Erickson, W., Vilhuber, L., & Golden, T. (2010). New York State disability and employment status report, 2009. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Employment and Disability Institute.
Ridgely, M. & Smith, B. (2003, March). Staffing and Managing Benefits Planning, Assistance, and Outreach Programs: Tips for Coordinators and Managers. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations Extension, Employment and Disability Institute.
"Nearly 1 in 5 People Have a Disability in the U.S.", Census Bureau Reports. N.p., 25 July 2012. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.