Though all employers should make an effort to hire employees with disabilities, home business owners should especially consider doing so. Fortunately for home business owners, they can more easily accommodate workers with disabilities than employers who require physical attendance at brick-and-mortar offices.
Even better, thanks to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) Ticket to Work (TTW) program, recruiting and hiring individuals with a disability isn’t all that difficult. When someone experiences a disability and gets approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) — a federal safety net that ensures workers who experience a disability have an income source while they recover — they become eligible to enroll in the TTW program for free. In our surveys, 52% of people who apply for SSDI say they want to return to work once their condition improves and the number of people participating in the TTW program has increased 63% in the last five years.
If and when TTW participants feel ready to re-enter the workforce, they will work with Employment Networks (ENs) to be matched to new job opportunities. They might not be able to perform the exact same job functions in the exact same environment they used to, but these individuals could still be highly qualified for many positions, especially the ones that home business owners need to fill.
To accommodate such individuals’ disabilities, home business owners often don’t have to spend anything. Sometimes, individuals with disabilities just need to periodically lie down or be in close proximity to a restroom. Working from home allows them to do this easily.
Another benefit of home business owners hiring workers with disabilities is that they may be able to fill positions quickly. One of the many great things about telecommuting is that individuals usually don’t need to take as many unscheduled absences like sick days — which can cost employers $1,800 per employee per year, according to Global Workforce Analytics — because they don’t have to worry about getting others sick or leaving the comfort of their home when they’re not feeling 100 percent.
In addition, SSDI beneficiaries who want to ease back into the workforce will have fewer adjustments to getting “work ready.” This is true whether someone has a physical or an “invisible” disability like diabetes or a mental health condition that isn’t seen. As a result, SSDI beneficiaries who able to work remotely may be able to start working sooner, too.
Home business owners should not only work with ENs to recruit new, talented workers who happen to have disabilities, they should also keep in touch with former workers who have had to take a leave of absence due to a medical condition. In 2017, small business owners spent an average $1,886 per person on training according to a recent Training Industry Report, and some — if not all — of this spending can be avoided by rehiring someone who is already familiar with the business’ services, culture, staff, schedule, etc. And, aside from saving money, home business owners actually stand to make money by hiring individuals from certain groups like veterans or SSDI beneficiaries through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.
There are so many former workers out there, sidelined by acquired disabilities. That is a gigantic talent pool for home business owners needing qualified workers. Valuable employees in the TTW program are out there, excitedly waiting for the right job opportunity to present itself, and ENs like Allsup can help home business owners connect with these capable candidates sooner rather than later.
