Accommodations
Impact of Workplace Accommodations
Impact of Workplace Accommodations
Appropriate workplace accommodations -along with an understanding employer- are key for better work and personal outcomes for people with arthritis, joint pain, and back pain. Accommodating employees has benefits for the employee, the employer, and the labour market.
Absenteeism: the time missed from work due to health reasons.
Presenteeism: the loss of work productivity among workers who are present at work, but limited in some aspect of job performance by a health problem.
Employee benefits
- Improved work related outcomes
- Healthier people
- Increased loyalty
- Increased productivity and employee motivation
- Less employee absenteeism and presenteeism
Employer/Organization benefits
- Retention of qualified and experienced employees living with arthritis, joint pain, and back pain
- A wellness culture at work
- A positive workplace morale
Labour market benefits
- Reduced economic loss to the Canadian economy
- A stronger Canadian workforce
Undue Hardship: “Undue hardship occurs if accommodation would create onerous for an employer or service provider, for example, intolerable financial costs or serious disruption to business.” -Alberta Human Right
What is considered undue hardship?
Undue hardship can mean different things in different contexts. For instance, providing flexible hours may be manageable for a company with 250 employees, but might put considerable strain on a company with 25 employees. Providing an accommodation up to the point of undue hardship does not require displacing other employees from their positions, creating new positions, or creating situations that place employees or clients at risk.
When deciding if an accommodation is reasonable, take into account factors such as the appropriateness of the accommodation, and how much an accommodation may impact the organization (i.e., cost, feasibility, size of the organization, etc.).
To substantiate a claim of undue hardship, an employer or service provider must show that they would experience more than a minor inconvenience. In most cases, accommodations are simple and affordable, and do not create undue hardship.
