This post is also available in: German
Working from home has many advantages for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. There are particularly good opportunities for the public sector to create individual and barrier-free working conditions for these people. This blog post shows why this will become increasingly important in the coming years, which tools will help and how real opportunities can be created for everyone.
People with disabilities are still underrepresented
The approximately 13 million people with disabilities living in Germany are still a long way from equal opportunities in working life. According to the Federal Statistical Office, only 57% of 15 to 64-year-olds were integrated into the labor market in 2019.
A key reason for ableism, i.e. structural discrimination against people with disabilities, is a lack of accessibility. Yet the opportunity to work from home makes it easier for many people with disabilities to access the labor market. For some, this offer is even a basic prerequisite for being able to work at all.
Remote Work breaks down barriers
Remote work makes life much easier, especially for people with limited mobility or blind employees: on the one hand, because they no longer have to travel to work and, on the other, because their own home is already barrier-free. But for people with neurological and mental illnesses and special needs, not having to leave their home often means relief and stress reduction.
Individual working conditions also mean that working hours can generally be arranged more flexibly. This also means that doctor or therapy appointments are much easier to attend and rest periods can be better integrated into everyday life.
Remote work can also help to reduce stigmatization, as the focus is more on performance and less on limitations, illness and physical characteristics. This can have a positive impact on the self-esteem and professional development of people with disabilities.
Working from home: where working from home is possible
Nevertheless, people with disabilities are less likely to work remotely than those without. Occupations that they perform are often less suitable for working from home. These include, in particular, lower-paid work and service jobs that often have to be carried out in person. According to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an average of 34% of jobs in OECD countries were suitable for remote work in 2019.
Public Sector: best opportunities for people with disabilities?
The area that is particularly well suited to working from home is the public and private service sector. It is also the sector that offers above-average opportunities for people with disabilities: According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost one in three people with disabilities in employment work here. This is also due to a mandatory quota: public administrations and companies with more than 20 employees must fill at least 5% of their jobs with people with disabilities in accordance with Section 154 of Book IX of the German Social Code. If they fail to do so, they pay a compensatory levy.
Nevertheless, more than a quarter of companies in Germany that are obliged to do so do not employ people with disabilities. In line with their social responsibility, public employers have further special obligations in the application process. According to Section 165 sentence 2 SGB IX, they must invite severely disabled people who apply for a job to an interview if they are suitable for the position.
In the case of disabilities: Entitlement to mobile working
In order for people with disabilities to be able to work independently and on an equal footing, they need a workplace whose equipment and design is adapted to their individual needs. Under certain conditions, severely disabled people can enforce a home office job against their employer, as they are entitled to disability-friendly employment (Section 164 (4) SGB IX)..
The OECD advocates giving people with disabilities the right to flexible working conditions such as remote work in collective agreements or statutory regulations. The Australian Fair Work Act of 2019 could serve as a model. It not only grants working people with disabilities, but also people aged 55 and over, employees with caring responsibilities and parents with children under the age of 6.
Inclusion enriches companies
If the public sector wants to take its role model function seriously, it should use its obligations towards people with disabilities as an advantage and see them as an opportunity. In the future, it will be increasingly reliant on them anyway, as the current shortage of skilled workers will become even more acute in the coming years.
People with disabilities are generally well to very well educated and often have particular strengths, such as resourcefulness, flexibility and adaptability. They are drivers of innovation, as they are used to encountering unexpected barriers and spontaneously developing alternatives. People with disabilities therefore hold one of the greatest potentials for the German labor market.
However, they are not only urgently needed skilled workers, but also bring new perspectives to the company. They are a great asset at all levels of the working world.
Digital barriers at the workplace
However, if inclusion is to work, it is not only physical barriers that need to be removed. Even where remote work is possible, many digital services are difficult to use, not user-friendly or barrier-free for people due to their illness.
A digital barrier can be a lack of a read-aloud function or software in everyday working life that is difficult to read or not high-contrast enough. If the keyboard focus is not visible, a website cannot be navigated without a mouse or the structure of a website is illogical, this can also be perceived as a digital barrier.
Municipal services perform poorly
For the “Digital Accessibility Atlas” presented in June 2024, around 11,000 municipal websites in Germany were tested for their digital accessibility. The result is sobering. Only 3 percent of the websites received the maximum number of points. A total of 7 percent even scored 0 points. This means that around 770 municipalities are not digitally accessible for people with disabilities.
Participation for all through technology
The use of innovative collaboration tools is ideal for promoting an inclusive corporate culture. These are designed and developed in such a way that they can be used regardless of individual abilities or limitations, by hybrid teams as well as by those who work 100% remotely.
Conceptboard enables its users with or without disabilities to navigate effectively, communicate with each other and exchange ideas without hindrance. This provides support, improves collaboration and increases productivity and efficiency at the same time.
More visibility despite remote work
For people with disabilities who work entirely from home, working with Conceptboard can also make a decisive difference because it ensures their active and visible participation. This is important so that they are also perceived as fully-fledged team members – both as high performers and as individuals.
Visibility and togetherness are therefore two further aspects that companies can promote with the help of Conceptboard: in everyday working life as well as with team-building measures that strengthen social interaction.
For technical reasons, Conceptboard cannot guarantee 100% digital accessibility at the present time. That is why Conceptboard is working intensively on its own digital accessibility – for itself and its customers. The aim is to crack 100 percent through continuous improvement.
Conclusion- promoting an inclusive digital working environment
By consciously organizing remote work, companies and the public sector not only live up to their social responsibility, but also benefit from the diverse talents and perspectives that people with disabilities bring to the world of work.
Even if digital accessibility is now being considered more extensively in the development of new technology and software, there is still some catching up to do. However, collaboration tools are already making an important contribution to better integrating people with disabilities into the digital world of work.
The Accessibility Reinforcement Act will come into force in June 2025. Services and products must then be designed to be barrier-free. This is an important step that will hopefully lead to even more open-mindedness and sensitivity towards this topic. After all, inclusion requires equal participation and can only succeed if everyone can use digital content and services equally and without restriction.
