Absenteeism and lateness are emphasized employer concerns, but research also shows no significant differences and fairly equal attendance between both groups in terms of these two characteristics. Furthermore, workers with disabilities have displayed lower turnover rates than their non-disabled counterparts.

University of Notre Dame

The main presumption of employers is that workers with disabilities are "problem employees" to the extent that they show less productivity in the workplace and overall other workplace issues, rooted in negative stereotypes. Instead, the hiring of employees has then been seen as a “charitable act that runs counter to organizational success or stakeholder value" (Bonnacio, 2019).

Performance Concern #1: The Job Performance of Workers with Disabilities

Bonaccio, S., Connelly, C. E., Gellatly, I. R., Jetha, A., &amp; Martin Ginis, K. A. (2019). The participation of people with disabilities in the workplace across the employment cycle: Employer concerns and research evidence. Journal of Business and Psychology, 35(2), 135–158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-018-9602-5 

The Participation of People with Disabilities in the Workplace Across the Employment Cycle: Employer Concerns and Research Evidence

- Lee and Newman found that 72% of accommodated disabled employees in the study were ranked has having average or above average productivity.
- Kaletta et al found that across 31 different distribution locations, most of the locations has statistically insignificant differences in productivity for disabled and non-disabled workers. Even with said differences, the locations saw those with disabilities having higher productivity.
- Hernandez and McDonald found no differences in performance or need for supervision between the two groups.

Evidence Against Assumed Productivity of Workers with Disabilities (Performance Concern #1)

Additional Evidence Against Employer Concerns (Performance Concern #1)

Organizations look to success stories of businesses with employees with disabilities to promote an inclusive workforce. Companies have also shown to approach the hiring process not with charitable intentions but mainly for business reasons, and hence emphasize the importance of employees fulfilling essential tasks associated with their roles. As such, employee resource centers could be an appealing options for organizations, including small businesses, looking to address issues and concerns regarding low productivity and performance difficulties. Such a solution can be accommodations.

Implications of Performance Concern #1

Research needs to be done in fully exploring the role of employment resource centers and in which situations they can be most useful. 

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