“ Improving Diversity through

Supported Employment ”

Employer´s view on hiring and support – results from swedish

studies

Johanna Gustafsson

hosted by:

In association with:

• Sustainable work – project• 3 SE-organizations – 317 PwD, 20 employers• Five studies; study of effects on employment,

employer´s view on hiring, employer´s view on support, employees´view of social inclusion and gender differences in the rehabilitation process

• Employer´s view on hiring• Semi-structured interviews with 20 employers• Qualitative content analysis

– Attitudes to recruitment of PwD– Suitable jobs for Pwd– Necessary conditions for hiring PwD

• Employer´s attitude– Shaped by past experiences– Social responsibility

• Implications– Past experiences is based on inclusion,

opportunities to meet – positive meetings – otherwise stererotypes will prevail

• Matching• Suitable jobs

– Structure of labour market; perceived demands of flexibility and adaptability

– Low-skilled jobs

• Suitable traits– Positive attitude and lojality– ”happy being an assistent

• Matching to a ”disabilityspecific” position

Tasks

High qualified X (if competence)

Low qualified X

Unqualified

”Complement” ”Ordinary” Supervisor Manager Position•

• Implications– Be aware of stereotypes –there are thousands of

different jobs and disability is relative to environment

– Matching should not only aim at getting a job – also at getting a sustainable job

• Necessary conditions• Subsidized employment

– Social standards of productivity– Compensation for individual inability– Risk of being seen as ”second-class employees”

• Implications– Question the necessaries of subsidies – risk that

subsidies are seen as compensation enough – is it a good match?

• Accommodations– Customized work situation– Meet the demands of labour market– Ability seen as environmental-relative– Hamper development and reduce career

opportunities

• Implications– Support the employers during employment, to

maximize the employee´s full potential

• Conclusions– Employers give voice to an utilitarian perspective– From this perspective disability is seen as limiting

rather than enriching– But PwD could be highly valuable in ”disability-

specific” position– Clash between the perceived demands on the

labour market and stereotypes of inability

Thanks for your attention!

johanna.gustafsson@oru.se

hosted by:

In association with: