The benefits of employing people with disabilities

Disability is part of human diversity – and diversity is good for business.

Creating an inclusive, diverse workplace benefits everyone – your employees, your business and the community as a whole.

The benefits of employing people with disabilities

Employees with disabilities will support you in achieving your business objectives while enhancing the diversity of your workforce. A diverse workforce has many benefits including:

– Enhanced talent attraction and retention
– More engaged, motivated and productive employees
– More creativity, innovation and new/valuable perspectives
– Better employee morale and teamwork
– Enhanced procurement and tendering opportunities
– Enhanced understanding of what your customers or clients with disability may need
– Enhanced brand reputation and loyalty
– Stronger corporate social responsibility.

For a person with a disability, the benefits of employment are significant.

Work is good for our health, yet only 47% of people with disabilities of working age are participating in the Canadian workforce.
For people with disabilities, employment provides:

– Financial independence and security
– A sense of identity
– Social inclusion and connectedness
– Positive personal wellbeing
– Physical and mental health benefits.

Ensuring your organization welcomes people with disabilities is not only the right thing to do, it makes good business sense.
Canadian and international research shows that employees with disabilities:

– Are reliable, dedicated and loyal
– Build relationships with customers across a wide cross-section of the community
– Have lower levels of absenteeism than other employees
– Have fewer compensation incidents and accidents at work compared to other employees.