Introduction Diversity in careers is a wide category that encompasses a variety of fields and issues. One that is prevalent in every career and work setting is the diversity of health and disability within the workplace. All careers challenge employees with different requirements both physical and mental. It is important to understand how these challenges can affect the employee and common trends across a diverse group. To accomplish this, we must be well informed and understand what factors are most influential. Employee health and disability, whether physical or mental, can be detrimental in its life long career effects. To identify how to promote change we must first address the main issues.
Health and Disability The real truth is
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We live in a society that values physical appearance and it can be a major influence when applying for a job. “One hundred forty million people aged twenty and older are currently employed in the United States. Twenty-nine percent of them are obese … with obesity comes and increase of work related limitations” (Robin, 2004) shows the fact that obese people are associated with work limitation. This could be caused by the existing stereotypes or by discrimination in the workplace due to societies view. Employers often see non-obese applicants as a better choice than obese applicants due to limitations that could potentially follow (O’Brien, 2012). Another problem in the workforce is that “nearly fifty percent of Americans have one chronic health condition” and this can be related to workforce limitations (Pamela, 2011). This hinders workers and creates a common negative trend that disabilities are not welcome in the workforce. Workplace health and protection exist as well. Companies and businesses develop different programs to try to promote positive health. Two common categories exist and these are health promotion and health protection. The goal is to “protect workers from occupational injury and illness ranging from basic safety training to the use of protective gear, work organization, and safety enhancing modification” that better the workplace. By doing this,
The health and safety at work act promotes good safety of individuals in a health and social
Employers are beginning to recognize the importance of accommodating those suffering from a disability. Employers are increasing incentives for employees to remain on the job with health related problems. However, most employees suffering from health related issues have not received much on the job accommodation. This is unfavorable as the ADA mandates employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees. However, with stronger communication between employer and employee, the turn-over-rate will slow down. To shed light on the topic, more disability accommodation information is provided from The Department of Labor's Job Accommodation Network. The Network offers free, expert assistance to employers and individuals on workplace accommodation and disability employment
Specific health problems associated with the workplace have contributed to the development of Particular health issues connected with the work environment have added to the advancement of the cutting edge safety and health development. These issues incorporate lung infections in diggers, mercury harming, and lung tumor attached to asbestos. Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals have an above normal extent of all day employments. For Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals working all day, normal week by week hours are 42.3 and profit are high - in the ninth decile. Unemployment for Health Professionals is underneath normal. H&S Professionals have an expansive extent of specialists amongst individuals in the 25-34 age section, making it an energetic and dynamic workplace. The unavoidable consequence of the expanded consideration given to safety and health is that bigger organizations are utilizing safety and health professionals and all organizations big or small are relegating these obligations to existing representatives.
One of the barriers expressed by 61.6 % of businesses surveyed by the US DOL is the “actual cost of accommodating disability” (“Survey of employer perspectives”, 2008, p. 12). In order to better understand how people with disabilities are viewed by their peers I will create a survey which will ask responders to voice their feedback on what they believe prevents people with disabilities from engaging in the workforce. The survey will also cover stereotypes which the responder can agree or disagree with.
This responsibility motivates the HR department and managers to implement stringent policies to prevent work-related injuries to avoid paying for higher workers’ compensation insurance. Moreover, it inspires the company to promote safety by organizing a safety committee to address hazards in the workplace to prevent injuries or deaths. The committee solicits employee suggestions and participation to increase compliance to company policies. It also develops various safety programs to promote employee wellness to improve their quality of life (Gomez-Mejia, et al, 2010).
Disability is an impairment is a life changing condition that limits one’s physical or mental abilities. Disabilities comes in many forms such as blindness, hearing, speech disorder, loss of vision. and memory. As well as, chronic illness such as diabetes, HIV, obesity. Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) employers, cannot discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities when hiring, firing, job promotion, distribution of benefits and privileges. In addition, by law, employers must make reasonable effort to modify work equipment and job settings for people with disabilities. Such as job schedules, employee training and communication devices; without causing an undue hardship, significant difficulty
Obese African American women were discriminated by society in the workplace. Being obese in society is seen as a form of laziness, self-disrespect, and poor self-control. Rothblum, Miller, and Garbutt (1988) found that overweight job applicants were evaluated more negatively than average weight applicants on issues such as their supervisory potential, self-discipline, and personal hygiene (Morrison & O'Connor, 1999). Qualifications for employment should never be based on an individual's weight. For example, Larkin and Pines
Having workers with disabilities can be beneficial to organizations. Sotoa & Kleiner, 2013, recommend to incorporate disability into the agency’s diversity statement, increase supervisor knowledge of the employment of people with
It is important it have a written work Health and Safety Policy for the organizations and businesses which have management systems. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 addresses Major Hazard Facilities in Regulation 558 and Schedule 17(1.2) and requires that the Safety Management System includes a Safety Policy, including the operator’s broad aims in relation to the safe operation of the major hazard facility, and that the safety policy must include and express commitment to ongoing improvement of all aspects of the safety management system. A Work Health and Safety Policy is an explicit statement of business commitment to work health and safety. It will include a statement outlining the importance which is placed on work health and safety and how it is to be implemented.
There is a lot of myth and stereotypes about employing persons with disabilities. As the baby boomers begin to retire, many organizations will struggle to find qualified workforce. Studies have shown that by 2050, the current older Americans retiring would double. It says that 10,000 men and women will be reaching 65 years every day by 2050 (Lehman & Wirt, (2014). Such demographic shifts will create employment vacuums that will need policy changes by both government and businesses.
“some employers perceive workers with a disability as a potential burden rather than an attribute”, this is the message confronting the readers of the article, “Disability Discrimination still rife in Australian Workplaces: Australian Network on Disability”. Written by Rachel Browne, she reiterates on professional workplace attitudes that hiring the disabled will increase insurance cost and they are less productive. Which connotes that the disabled are “useless”, the greatest insult. Just like the definition of rife, these widespread attitudes resonate throughout the article, allowing the reader to see how sickening such attitudes are. The anecdote that an “articulate, well-qualified and experienced” professional suffering from cerebral palsy faced many job seeking challenges due to her disability highlights the clear flaw in societal beliefs. Readers are forced to see societal attitudes as the true burden, an ingenious call of message to destroy such societal burdens. What’s more confronting is the inclusion of the recount, “Don’t worry about the next candidate, we are only doing the interview to be seen as doing the right thing.” It is
be protected by the A.D.A. this person must have a long standing record of this
In a study, when recruiters were asked to choose a suitability applicant for employment in a hypothetical administrative assistant position. They ended up giving less employability rating to applicants with a disability compared to the one without disability. This clearly shows stereotyping in few work places. (Bricout, John C., and Kia J. Bentley.).
Many theories have projected the importance of disability employment for both the individual and the community. Although the literature covers a wide variety of such theories, this review will focus on three themes which emerge throughout the literature reviewed. These themes are:
A person with a disability, or handicap, can be defined as someone with a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial or long-term adverse affect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities (Employment 2). Handicap workers face many challenges in the work place that the average person overlooks. Also, many special arrangements and alterations have been made to the workplace for people with handicaps. Accessibility, transportation, workload, and salary are just some of the many issues that must be considered with the prospect of employing the handicap.