According to a recent article appearing on the HR Dive website, the American Disabilities Act (ADA) is going to be turning 30 soon.
During that time, the American workplace has become more aware and done significantly more to accommodate workers with disabilities, but much still needs to be done in terms of travel or transportation concerns.
According to a recent study conducted by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), it’s estimated that some 38% of blind job seekers turned down an offer of employment based on transportation concerns. Usually, such offers of employment did not include the possibility for those employees to work remotely.
In a recent op-ed piece written by Kirk Adams, CEO of AFB for HR Dive, all of that may have changed.
“Here we are now, in the midst of one of the greatest global crises in our lifetime, and an unforeseen transformation has suddenly emerged: remote work on a mass scale,” writes Adams.
Because organizations around the world were forced to quickly adapt to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic so that workers could do their jobs from home and keep themselves and their families safe, it was, according to Adams, “a collective rethinking of what the future of the workplace may look like.”
Hannah Olson, founder, and CEO of Chronically Capable concurs. She believes of the more positive things to come out of the pandemic is the ability of companies to adapt quickly to increase accessibility for remote workers and ease the stigma that used to be attached to working from home.
“Going forward, there is a real opportunity for businesses across the country to take the lead in rolling out digital-first, remote workplace plans .”
Olson believes that not only will it help mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus, but that it will make workplaces more inclusive of those who suffer from chronic illnesses or disabilities overall.