Employment and people with disabilities: Reframing the dialogue in the post-pandemic era

While the employment gap between people with and without disabilities remains a significant challenge, recent trends indicate a shift towards greater employment equity, supported by a favorable labor market, changes in employer attitudes, and the adoption of more inclusive work practices (1–6). These new directions are reframing the dialogue about the future of people with disabilities in the post-pandemic era.

As the economy recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the surge in employment among people with disabilities captured news headlines (1–4). In the United States, their levels reached historic highs, prompting closer examination of the intersection of underlying factors and market forces by a range of stakeholders seeking answers to questions about the trend’s durability (5–7). Demographic data, labor market supply and demand, and changes in attitudes and practices in the workplace are among the factors being scrutinized for ways to maintain the upward trend for people with disabilities.

During 2023, a series of National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) reports issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability showed the positive contributions of subgroups of people with disabilities by race, ethnicity, age, disability type, and military service to the overall trend (8–12). Similar findings by experts at Rutgers University’s Program for Disability Research showed post-pandemic job gains across major categories of disability, including vision and hearing deficits and cognitive and mobility impairments, as well as employment growth for both remote and on-site work (6). These findings underscore the broad-based nature of the upward trend in employment among people with disabilities, who have exceeded their previous historic highs and outperformed their counterparts without disabilities, who have just recently reached their pre-pandemic levels of employment (5).

The pandemic’s acute labor shortages motivated employers to rapidly adapt their practices for recruiting, hiring, training, and maintaining employees, expanding opportunities for people with disabilities (2, 3, 6). A 2022 Kessler Foundation survey (7) compared the pre- and post-pandemic perspectives of supervisors on their employers’ attitudes and workplace practices relevant to people with disabilities. Among the significant differences, by 2022, many companies had reached out to disability organizations, improved their hiring procedures and onboarding, instituted cultural competence training, adopted flexible work arrangements, and eased processes for requesting accommodations. In 2022, supervisors more often reported having access to a central accommodation fund, which they viewed as an important factor in incentivizing the hiring and retention of workers with disabilities.

While encouraged by the achievements of people with disabilities in the labor market, uncertainties surround the longevity of these unprecedented gains as the pandemic’s impact fades. Remote work, which was widely adopted across workplaces during the pandemic, provided new job opportunities for people with disabilities. Research shows that people with disabilities have been more likely to work from home and many have benefited from expanded work-at-home opportunities (13–15) However, as pandemic restrictions were lifted and many employers began transitioning their workforces to return to the office, questions arose about the future of remote or hybrid work arrangements.

Much evidence supports remote work as an ongoing option for many workers and an accommodation for people with disabilities (6, 13–18). Employers have learned that productivity for workers with or without disabilities does not decline with remote work, and some studies show improved productivity (6, 14). Office occupancy data show that although office occupancy rose after the lifting of restrictions, by the end of 2022, occupancy rates had leveled off at 31% of pre-pandemic levels, evidence that a substantial proportion of workers were still working from home (13). Additionally, the majority of respondents to the Kessler Foundation 2022 supervisor survey felt that many pandemic-era changes, including the options for remote work and more accessible accommodations, were viewed positively and were likely to remain in place (7).

During the pandemic, employers increased their utilization of accommodations to retain employees, including extending this option to their employees with COVID-19 infections and the complications of long COVID (7). This led to greater acceptance of accommodations for all workers, including workers with disabilities, who, historically, have faced challenges in obtaining reasonable workplace accommodations despite the protection of the Americans with Disabilities Act (16). These recent shifts support the recognition of remote work as a reasonable accommodation for qualified employees, including those with disabilities (16). Increasing the availability of accommodations has benefited employers as well, enabling them to retain valuable employees, thus avoiding the costs associated with recruiting and hiring new workers in a tight labor market.

Future trends depend on many variables, including the state of the economy, the potential impact of anti-inflationary measures on the labor market, and unforeseen challenges such as the pandemic. Experts point to positive signs prior to the pandemic that may support continued gains for people with disabilities (5, 6, 17).

“After years of lack of movement, in 2014, we started to see improvement in the job numbers for people with disabilities,” noted Andrew Houtenville, PhD, professor of economics and research director at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. “This may have contributed to their resilience during the pandemic compared with workers without disabilities, and their impressive post-pandemic gains,” he added.

As work has been redefined by pandemic stresses, people with disabilities are striving to take advantage of new job opportunities and new ways to work. “This post-pandemic environment shows promise for lasting opportunities for people with disabilities in the workforce,” he emphasized. “They have shown that given the opportunity, they can meet employers’ needs.”

Identifying the factors contributing to their success in the workplace will help employers, policymakers, and disability service providers ensure continued progress toward narrowing the employment gap between people with and without disabilities.