Why flexible work modes suit disabled employees

A flexible model of work could lead to greater inclusion since physical infrastructure rarely supports the needs of the disabled

-  Vangmayi Parakala

“Although COVID lockdowns have ended, many employees want to continue to work from home,” reads an Australian report from late July. At a time when many organisations across the world are far from coming to a comfortable consensus on working from home versus working from office, or even determining their specific hybrid work models, the ideas and questions this report throws up are worth considering.

This is especially so given its focus on employees with disability—the report states that employees with disability will benefit from working from home versus working from office. Lead by Sue Williamson, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the report found that 47% of employees with disabilities would like to work from home two or three days a week, and over 40% want to work from home four or five days a week.

In the Indian context, according to a report in Hindustan Times in January 2021, “people with disabilities…have been disproportionately affected by the economic consequences of the Covid crisis, with thousands of them losing their jobs or being furloughed.” Most work in hospitality, retail, finance and BPOs, and finding jobs for them has been hard for the non-governmental organisations that usually provide training for people with disabilities.

In July the same year, a report from the market intelligence firm Unearthinsight revealed that “India has almost 3 crore people with disability (PwD) of which around 1.3 crore is employable but only 34 lakh of them have been employed across the organised sector, unorganised sector, government-led schemes or are self-employed.”

In India, people with disabilities who are employed seem to prefer working from the office in order to interact better with colleagues and feel a sense of community and, though public and office infrastructure often does not support their needs.