Towards more sustainable jobs for people with disabilities
The next four years Utrecht University and OsloMet University will jointly conduct research into sustainable jobs for vulnerable people in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). What measures, help and support do employers need to offer work to people with physical, mental or intellectual disabilities? The comparison between the Norwegian and Dutch contexts should lead to concrete advice that will contribute to making SMEs more accessible for people with a work disability, and is particularly aimed at employers.
‘It's not just a matter of motivation,' says researcher Rik van Berkel. ‘We know that many employers really want to, but often have no clue of how to deal with it’. The research project ENGAGE is funded by the Norwegian Research Council with a grant of 1,2 million euro.
‘Dutch policy on promoting the labour-market participation of people with disabilities has not yet paid much attention to the role of employers,' says researcher Rik van Berkel. ‘But in the end, it is the employers who have to hire these people. And as these policies increasingly target groups of people with more serious disabilities, the role of those employers is also growing. They have to think better about their vacancies; sometimes they don't know what kind of jobs have to be created. You see that happening in many countries. That's why we want to investigate how they can be supported - to become more accessible to people with disabilities'.
Most employment in SMEs
In the ENGAGE project, the researchers explicitly look at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ‘Large organisations often receive most attention, both in policy and, for example, in HRM research, while most employment can be found in SMEs,' Rik van Berkel explains. ‘In some ways they could experience more difficulties, for example because they often don't have a professional HR department (and 'the boss does this in between'). At the same time, we also see that once an SME wants something, it's much easier to organise than in a very large organisation. So the SMEs may have special needs, but on the other hand they may also be quicker in getting things moving'.
Every country has slightly different policies. The international comparative study of differences and similarities should provide insight into what, given the context, works best.
‘In the Netherlands we have the ‘Job Agreement’. In this agreement, the government and employers have agreed that they will create 125,000 jobs for people with a disability by 2026. This includes annual targets and the threat of sanctions if those targets are not met,' says the Utrecht researcher. ‘In Norway, quota regulations are non-existent. What works better? Is it more difficult to motivate employers in the Norwegian approach, or not? That's the kind of questions we're going to try to answer.
There are probably companies that need something that serves as a threat, but you also see companies in the Netherlands, for example, that say: “We want to contribute, but don't immediately treat us like cowboys by waving quotas and threatening with sanctions. First give us a chance to find out how to do this".
The first step is often big. Once other companies also have experience with these employees, it may become more 'normal' to look among the group of vulnerable people if you are looking for employees for your company.
Motivation and success factors
‘So it's not just a question of motivation,' Van Berkel emphasises. ‘We know from research that many employers really want to, but often they have no idea how to do it. The agencies responsible for implementing the policy can support them in this. So we're also going to look specifically at those agencies - in the Netherlands the local welfare and benefit agencies - because they have to support the companies. What can they do to make it easier for employers to hire people with disabilities?’
The ENGAGE project will look at organisations that already work with this group of people: what do they do and what are their success factors? The specific context of these SMEs also plays a role in this: government policy, the market and, for example, the specific group of employees they employ.
‘The first step is often big. Once other companies also have experience with these employees, it may become more 'normal' to look among the group of vulnerable people if you are looking for employees for your company'.
Extra challenge: the corona crisis
As a result of the corona outbreak (COVID-19), SMEs in both the Netherlands and Norway have been severely affected. What are the consequences of this for the labour market position of people with disabilities? Van Berkel does not yet dare to say: 'Have people lost their jobs, are new people still being hired? And what is the impact of the crisis on the sustainability of the jobs that are being created, these are obvious questions. We're definitely going to try and answer them in our research'.
Research team
The research team will start on 1 September 2020. In the Netherlands it will be led by Rik van Berkel (Utrecht University, School of Governance) and in Norway by Eric Breit (OsloMet University, Work Research Institute).