By Tanja Dall, Mikkel Bo Madsen & Flemming Larsen
Introduction
In recent years, employer engagement efforts have increasingly been oriented towards co-creating collaborations between employability professionals and employers (Bredgaard et al. 2023). While this orientation has not replaced, but rather contributed to, existing approaches focused on regulation (preventing discrimination in recruitment practices) and facilitation (facilitating recruitment practices), it has occasioned an orientation towards a broader range of human resource issues than recruitment, and has seen employability professionals be more involved in negotiating employer preferences, creating shared values, and engaging in workplace learning (Bredgaard et al. 2023).
We argue that employability professionals are increasingly involved in developing companies’ capacity for inclusion (Dall et al. 2023) and, in the following, we offer an outline of what such capacity entails. We have developed the concept with a special focus on populations who need support to enter or stay in sustainable employment due to disability, illness, and/or other disadvantages that limit their work ability, though we believe that workplace capacity for inclusion can benefit the entire workplace.
Workplace Inclusion Capacity
Workplace capacity for inclusion refers to the practical and social ability of a workplace to include people with work ability challenges in employment that is sustainable for both the individual and their life circumstances and the workplace’s social and financial situation.
The inclusion capacity consists of a repertoire of specific and ongoing practices that must be continuously executed [DI1] and adjusted around the individual employee in the context of the full employee group as well as the organisational practices and procedures.
When we talk about inclusion in this context, we see three key elements:
Subjective experience: The experience of being able to be one’s unique self at the workplace while feeling a sense of belonging to the workplace community. This element has been conceptualised by Shore et al. (2011) and is a widely used measure for inclusion.
Interpersonal relationships: The quality of interactions and relationships with colleagues and leaders. This element has been shown to be of key importance in making inclusion efforts sustainable in terms of job tenure and well-being (Randel 2023).
Practical-functional accommodations: Adjustments in job functions and working conditions to accommodate individuals with physical or mental limitations. This element is sometimes overlooked when focusing on diversity and inclusion in a ‘broad’ sense (e.g. concerning gender, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.), but can be of crucial importance when working with populations with disability, illness, and/or other disadvantages to their work ability (Hagner & Cooney 2003; Corbiére et al. 2014).
The three elements are closely connected and intertwined. For instance, the subjective experience of being accepted as the unique individual one is will be impacted by the availability of practical-functional accommodations to one’s working tasks, hours, etc.
A workplace’s capacity for inclusion, then, involves being able to work with all three elements of inclusion in dynamic yet systematic ways. We will return to how a workplace capacity for inclusion may be supported after taking a look at the key actors involved in doing so[DI2] .
Key Actors
A workplace’s capacity for inclusion refers to the overall capacity of the workplace to foster inclusion. As such, it involves everyone as well as all organisational and managerial levels of the workplace. That said, there are a few key groups of actors, each playing a significant role in developing (and maintaining) a capacity for inclusion:
Leadership and HR: Leadership and HR functions play a crucial role in ensuring inclusion in the workplace. Clear support from top management, involvement, relationship-building, and communication between leaders and employees are essential prerequisites for maintaining inclusive practices. HR functions support management in working strategically with inclusion and ensuring access to competence development for employees with work capacity limitations. There is a growing literature on inclusive leadership offering concrete tools for realising this potential (Randel 2023; e.g. Luthra & Muhr 2023, Mor Barak 2022).
External Support: Companies often use support from external factors, such as public employment systems or private consultants, to work on inclusion. Several studies have found that managers involved in inclusive practices explicitly mention external support as being central to them developing inclusive practices (e.g. Hagner & Cooney 2003; Waterhouse et al. 2010).
Inclusion candidates and colleagues: The involvement of employees and colleagues is crucial in producing and maintaining the inclusion capacity. Inclusion candidates will need to share their experiences and engage in conversations and negotiations on how challenges can be addressed and managed in the workplace. However, openness about inclusion needs can be challenging due to the risk of stigmatisation and exclusion. At the same time, studies show that increased diversity may foster conflict and resistance rather than inclusion (Mannix & Neale 2005)[DI3] . Thus, many studies have emphasised the importance of an inclusion climate, that is, an environment that allows all employees to be their whole unique selves, feel respected and valued members, and a sense of belonging (Luthra & Muhr 2023:17).
Developing Workplace Inclusion Capacity
Not only are welfare states looking to engage employers more actively in work to include disadvantaged populations in the workplace (Ingold & McGurk 2023), employers are also becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce (Luthra & Muhr 2023; McKinsey 2018). However, this is not as ‘simple’ as having more people with disability or illness find employment – though, to be clear, this can be complicated enough on its own. The concept of workplace capacity for inclusion brings to light the additional complexity of ensuring that employment is sustainable for all involved parties.
Natural supports: A starting point for strengthening workplace inclusion capacity is the natural resources or natural supports of the workplace. Natural supports are the “human or technical resources that are available or easily offered in a setting to facilitate integration, acceptance, and satisfaction, and to promote the goals and interests of everyone in a given setting” (Corbiére et al. 2014:91). The Work Accommodation and Natural Support Scale (WANSS) developed by Corbière and Ptasinski (2004) offers a starting point for evaluating the natural supports of a workplace and identifying resources that are readily available (or need attention) at the outset of a given intervention.
Building a repertoire of practices: Another way to build or strengthen workplace capacity for inclusion is through personalised inclusion efforts around individual employees. The literature on supported employment and workplace accommodations offers many examples of such accommodations which will be well known to many employability professionals; e.g. adjusted working hours or work tasks, assistive technology, etc. Given the importance of the interpersonal relations to colleagues (and managers), it is worth considering the relational or social accommodations that may support a new employee to enter the workplace community; e.g. assisting the employee to learn the informal rules for socialising and fitting in with the culture; increasing opportunities for non-work activities and interactions between new employees and their coworkers, etc. (Hagner & Cooney 2003:79). While such interventions are most often focused on the inclusion of individual employees, the experience gained via such efforts adds to a repertoire of practices that over time build the workplace’s capacity for inclusion.
Supporting managers and HRM personnel: We mentioned above the central role of leaders and HRM personnel in developing inclusion capacity, as well as the need for external support from – for instance – employability professionals. Support can take many shapes, such as knowledge sharing regarding specific disabilities/illnesses and/or occupational rehabilitation, consultation in individual cases as well as wider attempts to foster inclusion, material resources, facilitation of networks where leaders may exchange experiences, etc.
Working holistically and dynamically: While many of these tools and interventions will not be new to many employability professionals, the concept of workplace capacity for inclusion brings attention to the connected nature of all these interventions. Thus, workplace capacity for inclusion spans all levels of the workplace and includes practical/functional as well as social dimensions. The development of inclusion capacity in workplaces is a dynamic and ongoing process that requires continuous effort and adjustment (Enehaug et al. 2022).
Conclusion
Employability professionals are increasingly supporting workplaces in developing inclusive practices that reach beyond that of recruitment of disadvantaged individuals.
In doing so, they are involved in building workplace capacity for inclusion, defined as the practical and social ability of a workplace to include people with work ability challenges in employment that is sustainable for both the individual and their life circumstances and the workplace’s social and financial situation.
The inclusion capacity consists of a repertoire of specific and ongoing practices that must be continuously executed and adjusted around the individual employee in the context of the full employee group as well as the organisational practices and procedures.
References
Bredgaard, T., Ingold, J. & van Berkel, R. (2023). Varieties of Policy Approaches to Employer Engagement in Activation Policies. In J. Ingold & P. McGurk, Employer Engagement, Making Active Labour Market Policies Work, pp.15-33. Bristol: Bristol University Press.
Corbière, M., Lecomte, T., Lesage, A., Villotti, P., Bond, G. R., & Goldner, E. M. 2014. Work Accommodations and Natural Supports for Maintaining Employment. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. 37 (2): 90 –98.
Corbière, M., & Ptasinski, T. (2004). Work accommodation scale for people with mental illness. Longueuil, Canada: CAPRIT-University of Sherbrooke.
Enehaug, H., Spejlkavik, Ø., Falkum, E., & Frøyland, K. (2022). Workplace Inclusion Competence and Employer Engagement. Nordic journal of working life studies 12 (1): 71-93.
Dall, T., Larsen, F., Madsen, M.B., (2023). Opening the Black Box: Promoting Employer Engagement at the Street Level of Employment Services. In J. Ingold & P. McGurk, Employer Engagement, Making Active Labour Market Policies Work, pp.15-33. Bristol: Bristol University Press.
Hagner, D., & Cooney, B. (2003). Building Employer Capacity to Support Employees with Severe Disabilities in the Workplace. Work 21 (2003): 77–82.
Luthra, P. & Muhr, S.L. (2023). Leading through bias. 5 essential skills to block bias and improve inclusion at work. Cham: Palgrave Executive Essentials
Mannix, E.A. & Neale, M.A. (2005). What Differences Make a Difference? The Promise and Reality of Diverse Teams in Organisations. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 6(2), 31-55.
McKinsey 2020. Diversity wins: how inclusion matters. McKinsey. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters#/
Mor Barak, M.E. (2022). Managing Diversity. Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace. Fifth edition. Los Angeles: Sage
Randel, A.E. (2023). Inclusion in the workplace: A review and research agenda. Group and Organization Management, 0(0), 1-44.
Shore, L. M.; Randel, A. E.; Chung, B. G.; Dean, M. A.; Ehrhart, K. H., & Singh, G. (2011). Inclusion and diversity in work groups: A review and model for future research. Journal of Management 37: 1262–1289.
Waterhouse, P., Kimberley, H., Jonas, P., & Nurka, C. (2010). What Would it Take? Employer Perspectives on Employing People with a Disability. Literature Review. South Australia: National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
