Dubai: Employers in the UAE must change their perception of people of determination while hiring them, suggests an Ipsos-led research by Emirates NBD Bank.
Only 26 per cent of companies across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah have specific corporate guidelines on hiring people of determination, with several barriers creating “a fear of the unknown” scenario.
Held under the bank’s #TogetherLimitless advocacy platform for persons of determination, the study’s findings were discussed by a panel of speakers from the private and government sectors on Tuesday.
The study included interviews of 70 C-level executives and HR managers from companies with 75-plus employees across the three emirates. Face-to-face meetings, online questionnaires and seven in-depth interviews were also included in the study.
Murray Stanford of Ipsos, UAE, explained that with low awareness about people of determination in the UAE, many (53 per cent) believe that a strong association with disability is the word “wheelchair”.
“When it comes to cognitive disabilities or hindrance like Down syndrome, there is even far less awareness, which feed the general narrative we have here that disability is a physical hindrance,” he said.
The study also showed that among the sample of employers surveyed, the ideal employee is one with one or more of four attributes — eager to learn, have work stability, very proactive and have the right experience.
However, despite having not enough data to make a full comparison between employees with disabilities and the “ideal employee” attributes, the study showed that nine out of 10 managers who have hired a person of determination were satisfied with their performance.
Stanford also discussed key barriers many employers face when considering to hire a person with disabilities.
“By human nature, we fear what we don’t know, and there is a real fear that someone with a disability comes with red tape involving absenteeism, expensive infrastructural changes to the workplace to adapt to their needs, and the fear that they won’t fit in with colleagues and the work culture,” said Stanford.
The study also showed that while 67 per cent of employers interviewed believe that people of determination have issues finding a job in the UAE, 47 per cent said they are open to hiring people with disabilities as employees in the future.
“To reach real sustainable change, the key to success relies in having structural change and that’s both in the induction process and the job-finding process,” said Stanford.
He explained the employers should mention the right job skills for the right candidate and provide job coaching in the process of hiring people of determination.
Another speaker at the panel, Fatima Abdul Rahman, chief human resources officer, Tanfeeth, pointed out that hiring people of determination needs several prerequisites in place to ensure that the experience is mutually beneficial and fulfilling for both the employee and employer.
“As an employer, creating an inclusive corporate culture that accepts people from all walks of life is priority. This attitude can be achieved by including informal discussions, educational internal communications and employee volunteering opportunities,” she said.
She explained that it is also very important that the job description is customised to the employees’ needs and capabilities to ultimately provide a sense of fulfilment to the employee.
