An exploratory study of barriers to inclusion in the European workplace

Louise Moody, Janet Saunders, Marjan Leber, Marzena Wojcik-Augustyniak, Marek Szajczyk, Natasa Rebernik

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    15 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: The European Disability Strategy (2010–2020) seeks to significantly raise the proportion of people with disabilities working in the open labour market. The ERGO WORK project is a collaboration of academic and industrial partners in six European countries, focused on understanding and tackling barriers to workplace inclusion for workers with disabilities. Method: This study sought to explore the perceptions and needs of stakeholders in terms of workplace adaptation to the needs of employees with disabilities. An exploratory online survey was completed by 480 participants across six countries. Results: The analysis suggests that workplaces could be further improved to meet the needs of employees with considerable scope for training within companies to raise awareness about employees’ needs, employers’ obligations and workplace adaptation. Conclusions: This snapshot suggests there is still a gap between intent and reality in workplace inclusion and further strategies are needed to improve the opportunities for employees with disabilities. The paper argues that ergonomics may have a key role to play in tackling these challenges and adapting the workplace environment and job design to suit the needs of individual employees.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2047-2054
    Number of pages8
    JournalDisability and Rehabilitation
    Volume39
    Issue number20
    Early online date24 Sept 2016
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017

    Keywords

    • Workplace inclusion
    • ergonomics
    • Europe
    • stakeholder survey

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