EXCLUSIVE: How assistive technology at work promotes social, economic, and moral equality

In this article, Elisa Silverman, a freelance writer for Trade Press Services, explains that by leveraging assistive technology, organisations can foster inclusive workplaces where disabled employees can flourish and make significant contributions.

In today’s world, companies have a legal and moral imperative to provide support to employees with disabilities. Yet research reveals that disabled individuals face disproportionately high unemployment rates and increased levels of poverty compared to their non-disabled counterparts.

According to the most recent unemployment numbers published by the UK Department for Work and Pensions, the disability unemployment rate (7.2 percent) was more than double the unemployment rate of non-disabled people (3.2 percent). In the United States, the unemployment rate for disabled people is also about twice as high as the rate for persons without a disability.

Within these untapped talent pools lies an immense potential to bridge skills gaps across various industries. By leveraging assistive technology (AT), organisations can foster inclusive workplaces where disabled employees can flourish and make significant contributions. By developing and implementing strategies to attract and retain disabled talent, companies can utilise AT to champion their economic, social, and moral equality, ensuring disabled employees enjoy the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers.

Economic equality

AT in the workplace plays a crucial role in disabled employees’ long-term career trajectories within a company. For example, making sure visually impaired employees have screen readers allows them to unleash their full creativity and productivity potential. This also gives them equal access to internal cross-training and upskilling programs that are often prerequisites for increased responsibilities and promotion to new roles.

With AT, disabled employees are on an equal foundation with their peers, able to enhance their skills, and pursue high-profile projects. This environment creates a fair and competitive field where they can showcase their abilities, vie for advancements, and improve their income and economic mobility. By removing barriers, AT empowers individuals with disabilities to unlock their full potential, leading to greater financial independence and growth opportunities.

AT creates a safer work environment for disabled employees, whether that means ramps, ergonomic chairs, or adaptive keyboards, all of which can reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Disabled employees may already carry a higher burden of healthcare costs. By providing accessible workspaces and appropriate accommodations, employers ensure the well-being of their disabled workforce while minimising additional healthcare costs both for the employee and the organisation. With tools that let them demonstrate their high performance, disabled employees will reap the financial rewards through expanded employment opportunities and improved long-term career growth.

Social equality

Removing barriers to employment for disabled individuals also eases their social integration within the workplace and the broader community. By creating inclusive work environments, the presence of disabled employees becomes more common, leading to a reduction in stereotypes and discrimination both at and outside of work.

Disabled employees can work independently with AT in ways they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. For instance, the use of a braille device that converts text to braille allows visually impaired individuals to navigate written materials, from signs to documents, without the need for assistance from co-workers. This type of tool eliminates the potential of being perceived as burdensome or fostering ill feelings among co-workers.

For neurodivergent employees, who might struggle with social cues, AT such as virtual reality tools can simulate common scenarios, like participating in meetings or interacting with clients. By role-playing work events in a realistic way, these employees have room to build their social skills in a safe way. Neurodivergent employees who have extreme sensory sensitivities can be assisted through technologies that don’t instigate a negative response from sensory overload. Their workplace lighting can be adjusted to suit their needs or noise-cancelling headphones can be provided, as needed, to provide a calming environment.

Of course, the workplace isn’t just about work. Whether employees work remotely, full-time at the worksite, or a hybrid, the workplace is also a social setting. AT can facilitate social interaction and inclusion for disabled individuals. It enables them to communicate and engage with their peers more effectively, reducing social isolation and exclusion. AT tools such as communication aids, speech-to-text software, and alternative input devices allow disabled employees to actively participate in meetings, discussions, and social activities, fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie.

By embracing AT and creating an inclusive work environment, employers can break down barriers and empower disabled employees. When disabled individuals have equal access to the same information and social connection in the company, they become valued contributors to the workplace and are no longer socially excluded.

Moral equality

Achieving moral equality in the workplace is essential as it acknowledges the inherent human dignity and worth of every individual, regardless of their abilities. Moral equality means recognising that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and fairness.

AT plays a crucial role in supporting the individual autonomy of disabled employees. For instance, AT enables them to move freely throughout the workplace and access all facilities, such as bathrooms and exercise rooms, without constantly relying on assistance from others. This empowers disabled individuals to navigate their work environment independently, promoting a sense of self-sufficiency and autonomy. By implementing AT and promoting its usage, workplaces can establish a sense of fairness. With the availability of AT resources, expectations are standardised. This fosters an inclusive environment where all employees have equal opportunities to contribute and succeed.

By striving for moral equality in the workplace through the implementation of AT, companies create an environment where all individuals are provided with the necessary tools to succeed and contribute to the company’s mission. This not only benefits disabled employees but also promotes an overall work culture based on collaboration, empathy, and mutual respect.

Common mistakes when providing assistive technology

A common assumption many companies make when looking at how to bring assistive technology into the workplace is that AT is expensive. In many cases, the company likely already has tools that provide assistive technology. Meena Das, a software engineer and the founder of Working with Disabilities, a support group for professionals with disabilities, notes that simply having chat and text applications in common use at her workplace improves her ability to interact with other employees.

Meena says: “My co-workers can talk for a long time. But in my case, speaking for a long time can get tiring due to my stutter. So, I can just text. Assistive technology can provide multimodal forms of communication that work for both parties.”

Meena recommends that a good starting place for companies is to look for the AT they may already have in place and expand from there. She cautions that simply having one piece of AT doesn’t mean full accessibility is readily available. Screen readers are one example of AT that companies used to have to buy as a separate expense but now come standard with most computers, like Microsoft’s Narrator and Apple’s VoiceOver. While the company can provide screen readers at no additional cost, Meena emphasises that “…screen readers only work if the website is designed to be accessible by them. Workplaces that provide these assistive technologies as accommodations must also make sure that their internal and third-party software are designed to work with screen readers.”

Another common mistake companies make is to overlook the use of AT in their recruiting and hiring processes. A neurodivergent applicant might need accommodation for a timed application test. If the company has a hiring portal, it should be designed for screen and braille reader compatibility. With most hiring processes at least partially, if not fully online, digital accessibility is critical to ensuring that a company is building a workplace that promotes social, economic, and moral equality for disabled workers.

Embracing AT for a competitive advantage

Assistive technology empowers organisations to hire disabled employees and create a supportive workplace where they can succeed. Moreover, hiring and supporting disabled employees delivers quantifiable benefits for the company. Research shows that leaders in disability employment achieved, over a four-year period, 28 percent higher revenue, double the net income, and earn 30 percent higher economic profit margins. The same research also projected that “U.S. GDP could get a boost of up to US$25 billion if more persons with disabilities joined the labour force.”

AT also significantly expands the company’s employee pool. Unfortunately, about 75 percent of organisations lack clear recruiting and hiring goals for people with disabilities. Actively working to recruit disabled people and provide the ATs needed for them to thrive at work can propel a company ahead of its competitors who overlook this talent pool.