These advertisements are apart of the Think Beyond the Label Campaign. Their objective is to encourage businesses to hire people with disabilities. They have partnered with other agencies and have obtained grants in order to fund the project.
I have to admit I questioned these advertisements the first time I saw them. I understood the concept; however, it seemed to be an overgeneralization. Just because someone is different doesn't mean they have a disability. And just because someone does have a disability doesn't mean they are "weird." I guess this what they were trying to accomplish though. People, and businesses in particular, are not hiring individuals with disabilities as often as they should. The employment rate of PWDs is 36.9% and the unemployment rate of PWDs is 79.7% (2007 Cornell Disability Status Report). Keep in mind that these statistics are much higher right now because of the economy.
Generally, people with disabilities are pitied in the media and agencies/businesses who hire them are doing them a favor, which means PWDs are dependent on how the media portrays them. The ads link to the "5 Myths and Real Facts" tip sheet that state things like, "Myth NO. 1: Hiring employees with disabilities increase workers compensation insurance rates."
"The ads try to challenge conventional wisdom about workers with disabilities by offering humorous examples of people with “differences” already employed" (NY Times). Everyone in the workplace is different and those differences should be embraced. Everyone, whether they admit it or not, labels others to some degree. These ads show that the labels should not matter because each of us have differences. The question then becomes do any of these labels directly correlate with how people perform in the workplace? Not so much. Businesses need to understand that most accommodations cost under $500 (as per the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and that most individuals need things like flexible schedules, the ability to work from home, work site modifications, etc.
Several individuals with disabilities have supported this campaign. Such as actor, Alana Wallace, who said “I knew I needed to be a part of this campaign because there were enough of the pity-party approaches to [hiring people with disabilities]" (NY Times).
I have been saying for a while now, that businesses need to become more aware of the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities. Most of them seem to be unaware of the tax benefits of hiring PWDs, as well as best practices in hiring qualified PWDs. On their website, Think Beyond the Label, highlights tax benefits, best practices, etc. This is a really useful website and should be utilized by many. Anyway, these commercials are supposed to start running Sunday on ABC, CBS and NBC and on cable channels like BBC America, CNN, ESPN and HLN. The print ads are to appear in publications like Fast Company, HR Magazine, Inc., Time, The Wall Street Journal and The Week.
Just out of curiosity what do you guys think about the ads?
I think it is a refreshing approach. People do already accommodate differences in the workplace--so what would be so hard about disability? And I appreciate their focus on what people with disabilities could do for your company, rather than on what companies should do (out of pity) for people with disabilities. Humor is a nice and empowering change.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Terri. There's definitely been a shift in the media. There are many advertisements out there re: but most of them seem to be public service announcements. This approach clarifies the fact that everyone is different, and just because someone does things a little differently doesn't mean
ReplyDeletethey can't accomplish projects and tasks in the workplace.