Employers’ perspectives of including young people with disabilities in the workforce, disability disclosure and providing accommodations

Background: Enhancing the employment of people with disabilities can help support healthy and productive work. Objective: Our objective was to understand employer accommodation practices with youth with disabilities (i.e., as they currently exist and what employers need help with) and how they create an inclusive environment. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted involving in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 18 employers who hire young people with disabilities. Thematic analysis explored issues related to disclosure, accommodations, and inclusion. Results: Most employers encouraged youth with disabilities to disclose their condition and emphasized the importance of building trust and rapport. Employers described how and when to provide accommodations, types of accommodations (i.e., formal, informal, physical, and social), and how they addressed unmet needs. Employers’ strategies for creating an inclusive workplace culture included: diversity training, addressing stigma and discrimination, open communication, mentoring and advocacy. Conclusions: Our findings highlight that most employers hiring youth with disabilities have strategies for encouraging them to disclose their condition and request accommodations, which can help to inform employers who do not hire people with disabilities or have effective strategies in place to support them