Workplace accommodation to people with disabilities: a case study in civil construction

27 Oct 2022 CategoryPeople with disability rights and accommodations Author Umain Recommends

Originally published here.

People with disabilities (PD) account for about 15% of the world population, or one billion people (1). While in Brazil this figure is 23.9% of the population, i.e. there are 45.6 million PDs in Brazil. In northeastern Brazil, the amount of PD is a bit higher, 30.9% of the population, and the state of Pernambuco has 27.5% of the population (2). The highest amount of PD in the Northeast compared to the national average can be caused by a lower socioeconomic development and worse conditions of health care in the region.

The inclusion of this population in the sociallabor environment has been discussed and encouraged through various laws. Among the legal measures adopted by the State, the ones that stand out are Law No. 8.112, of 11/12/1990, which ensures PD the right that 20% of the places offered in competitive public entrance examinations, and the Law No. 8213/91 which obliges companies with more 100 than employees to have 2% to 5% of their staff as people with disabilities (3,4). It is important to note that the state, despite require companies to include the PD and might to penalize them with fines, if not met the quota law does not provide tax incentives for Brazilian companies to hire and carry out the necessary adjustments of workplace to workers with disabilities.

Despite the attempts to include PD at work, the number of such people seeking employment and of those receiving job opportunities remains low in North America and Europe (5). In Brazil, this is also true, because it is seen that current legislation does not guarantee the inclusion of PD in the labor market, since, as per data from the 2012 Annual Report of Social Information (RAIS) (6), of the total of 47.1 million people with active, formal employment links at 31 December, 330,300 were declared as people with disabilities, which represents 0.7% of the total of formal employment links, ie, missing a lot to reach the percentage required by law.

Unfortunately, workers with disabilities are very often seen as a problem to be dealt with instead of an opportunity that can be used (7). Occupational and demographic data from the US Census Bureau and the Occupational Information Network data show that in the US, workers with disabilities are under-represented in jobs that require qualification and have good salaries. On the other hand, they are well represented in low-skilled jobs and low wages (8). In this context, despite the efforts, the PD at various times suffer prejudice for being seen as generating costs and low productivity.

Some companies have hired workers with disabilities without using appropriate methods to do so. Thus, there was no prior analysis of accessibility conditions, nor of the demands of their jobs, nor of these people’s potential, resulting adaptation problems, occupational accidents and economic damage to the image and social awareness of the company, as well as psychosocial problems in relation to PD (9). In a survey conducted by Chi et al. (10), of the 540 case studies analyzed, in only 3 of them did employers conduct an analysis of the tasks and the functional abilities of workers with disabilities for job accommodation.

It is verified that job accommodation to people with disabilities is a tough task that has encountered some difficulties, such as the lack of offering professional training to people with disabilities, the presence of architectural and organizational barriers and discrimination regarding PD functional potential (11). Thus, it is essential to understand that the interaction between people with disabilities and the elements of the work system should be treated by a multidisciplinary team, since, the knowledge of the tasks, the physical, intellectual and organizational demands of jobs and knowing the functional capabilities of a worker with disability, reasonable adaptations to work environments can be carried out adequately.

Therefore, there is a need to compare the demands of the job and the PD’s capabilities. The goal is that the demands of work do not exceed the functional capacities of the worker with a disability and that the workplace is accessible and safe. PD’s jobs should allow or facilitate the development of their individual skills and abilities, while also preventing the progression of their existing deficiencies and/or the emergence of new ones (12). Thus, this avoids the worker with disabilities having to make a great effort to adapt to the job or the job falling far short of their professional qualifications (13).

Workplace accommodation to people with disabilities may vary both in the complexity of each case and in the resources needed. Consequently, planning for each adaptation also varies in time, effort and the number and the professionals involved. It is important to include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, doctors, safety at work engineers, architects, designers and other professionals. Moreover, the adaptation process should involve the people affected (the PD, the employer and co-workers) as active participants in obtaining a good result. A workplace not adapted to the worker with a disability, just as to any worker, will bring losses to the company, such as a fall in productivity, an increase in absenteeism, a greater likelihood of work accidents and errors (14).

 Importantly no data on occupational accidents involving workers with disabilities in the construction industry in Brazil. The construction industry plays an important role in generating direct and indirect jobs, especially for those with little professional skills (15). In addition, in the UK, there are many job opportunities in construction for workers with disabilities, however, only a small number of companies offer these positions to the PD (16). Despite the importance of this economic sector in Brazil, there is a lack of publications on labor inclusion of PD in this sector in the country (17). The purpose of the paper was to assess and describe the various tasks of the laborer, bricklayer, painter and foreman of the construction industry to determine the profile of workers with disabilities who could perform such jobs and what adaptations are needed.

You can read the compete article here.