Employer's Attitude: Their Perception And Awareness About Disability Organizations have a lot to gain from employing people with disabilities, as that improves the perception of the masses and clients alike as being sensitive, reasonable, and conscientious. The team has to be led from the front in this regard by the employers: the heads of the organization (Siperstein, Romano, Mohler, & Parker, 2005). The growing demand for labor supply in the 21st century cannot be ignored any longer. The labor market is getting tighter with the supply diminishing owing to many factors (Copeland, 2007). Employers have to consider the fact that employing people with disabilities is not simply a good business and economic decision; it is also a way of building up the reputation of their organization.

The facts point to a scenario where the population growth will be slower than at any previous time. The couple of decades to follow face a situation where a rapidly ageing population will go into retirement and more become unable to function in a normative fashion. At the same time, the role and importance of technology expands to a level where the basic skills required to execute work will change to a large extent (Braddock & Bachelder, 1994). Such conditions will force the employers to reassess their position regarding the employees, an important reason why the employers should take cognizance of the measures attended to by the ADA. The need for accommodating the spirit of ADA to employ people with disability more proactively needs to be appreciated, in fact it has to be turned into a social movement to meet the challenges of emerging social conditions (Waters & Johanson, 2001). The employers have slowly started taking notice of the facts and the lower supply of labor in the market to encourage the disabled to contribute actively in the business scenario.

Not very long ago, people with disabilities were not considered favorably for employment, but the current and impending necessity seems to have been realized by the employers (Conlin, 2000).

The Work Scenario

The era that we live in today is technologically advanced. The work that needs to be done today offers scope for flexible working hours and diminishing need for commuting. As such, even people with disabilities can work with equal if not better efficiency alongside colleagues who are able and physically fitter sans disabilities. In fact, working from the comforts of home has become a reality in these technologically advanced workplaces. This discounts the disability of a worker if he has been trained with the right skill sets. According to EEOC (2005), in at least 22 identified industries, telecommuting and tele-work has become possible making it a viable option for those with disabilities to be employed. The labor supply scenario (diminishing) is widespread and those hitherto ignored by the employers (disabled people) need renewed consideration to fill in the increasing gaps in labor supply.

The need of the times is that organizations need to be competitive globally to survive the changing dynamics. There is thus, an urgent need to seek the services of the people with disabilities who may contribute to the value of the organization by improving the morale and productivity at the workplace. The attitude towards the disabled class has to be revisited (Braddock & Bachelder, 1994).

Employer's awareness about the Disabled

The general perception of those with disabilities is that they are not capable of standing the rigors of the job and are hence not fit to be employed. The perception about their efficiency and consistency is at stake, too, generally. Organizations think they do not fit into their workplaces normatively (Copeland, 2007). Such widespread perception makes it difficult for employers to engage the services of the disabled labor in their organizations (Schall, 1998). The number of disabled people (with many different reasons and incapacities), make it all the more difficult for the people with disabilities to find productive and satisfying employment and growth opportunities, millions of Americans remain deprived, as a result (Copeland, 2007). The negative impact rebounds on the social fabric and commercial domains of the nation as the disabled remain relegated to sidelines of the mainstream of business and allied productive activities. These attitudes and barriers complicate the matters for both the business and society of the nation (Copeland, 2007).

The attitudinal barriers presented by organizations as a whole and that of the employer/owner as the leader in face of lower labor supply on the negative side posited against the positive angles of technological advances and the legislation of ADA on the other need to be studied analytically. The study takes into considerations the affectations of the employer regarding the disabled and the accommodations needed at the workplace and changes required to involve to the services of people with disabilities (Copeland, 2007).

The...

The other considerations regarding the issue are as under:
The Disabled are capable and have the willingness to work.

The main affective barriers arise from institutional constructs rather than from medical reasons.

Promulgation of ADA improves the chances for disabled to seek and engage in productive roles in the organizations.

Preventing the disabled from the workplaces has an effect on both the society as well as organizations that need to be competitive in the global business dynamics

ADA offers incentives for employers for employing the disabled.

This study sought unbiased and honest opinions from respondents. As required and addressed by ADA, disability in all forms were accessed to understand the affective responses of the employers, colleagues and the disabled .

The basic attention to employers' negative affectations towards the disabled is a result of the fact that many studies have confirmed this reason to be at the base of the large number of unemployed, disabled people compared to the unemployment level of the more capable population (Copeland, 2007).

Employees Attitude Towards the Disabled

There are some Fortune 500 companies too that carry negative bias towards people with disabilities. Their concern is chiefly that of providing accommodations for the disabled. They also have apprehensions regarding giving departmental promotions to such people in their organizations (McFarlin, Song, & Sonntag, 1991). In the same vein a study has pointed out that about 66% of small businesses has consciously avoided employing people who are disabled (Harrison, 1998). Though most people in organizations are neutral to the issue, there are reservations about additional training and supervision costs, skills possessed particular issues about safety of the disabled and medical costs. In as much, we can conclude that the awareness levels about incentives provided by way of legislation or through personal affectations is minimal.

Other Employees

There is general negative perception about adjusting with those who are disabled in the workplace according to Berry and Meyer (1995). The apprehensions are more of the general kind with no particular reason for the same. There is general level of discomfort amongst employees sharing workplace with the disabled. Those who had hitherto no such experience of sharing workplace with disabled people had no reservations about or had generally positive affectations about people with disabilities as their colleagues (Mcloughlin, 2002). All the same, the same workers responded with apprehension when asked about the possibility of having disabled as co-workers citing the reason that others in the organization may not approve of the same.

Disability types

There is academic insight to prove that the most unacceptable disability type in an organization, specifically in the Fortune 500 companies is that of psychiatric or mental disability. The awareness about these types of problems and their acceptability is very low (Jones, Gallagher III, Kelley, & Massari, 1991) . The larger corporations are also not very aware about the legal implications of different legislations regarding disability and the specific interventions required of them to integrate those with disability into the mainstream. There is a clear reluctance amongst the top managements of larger companies to integrate those with mental afflictions compared to a better acceptance value to those with limited physical abilities as prescribed in the governmental regulations (Copeland, 2007).

Accommodations

In addition to above reservations and affectations, employers also believed that those with disabilities could not access the devices and gadgets to be used by employees in the workplace easily, which, they believe would interfere with their level of efficiency and productivity. Consequently, the outlook is that people with disabilities will not be able to handle requisite workload to work their way up the hierarchy in the organization (Copeland, 2007).

The Impact of ADA on Employers

Introduction

According to Scheid (1999), most employers were taking steps to include disable people into the workforce forced by the sanctions they would possibly face imposed by ADA. All those who had availed themselves knowledge about ADA were more inclined to employ disabled labor into their organizations. In organizations where the disabled were employed owing to apprehensions about sanctions, the discrimination did not recede substantially, though. Those with mental health issues continued to face discrimination at the workplace (Scheid, 1999).

ADA Title I has evoked positive responses, albeit of varying intensities, amongst…