Remote work opened some doors to workers with disabilities. But others remain shut

Mary Yang with NPR

For people with disabilities, the increasingly permanent shift to remote work in some industries has been a pandemic perk.

More organizations are now offering workplace accommodations, according to a survey by researchers from the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability and the Kessler Foundation, a U.S. charity supporting people with disabilities. That's largely because employers have been made to confront another new normal: an influx of workers experiencing lasting health issues associated with COVID-19.

"Our community is growing exponentially from long COVID," said Jill King, a disability rights advocate who is disabled. "More people are needing [accommodations] as well as asking for them."

Researchers collected online responses from supervisors working in companies with at least 15 employees from May 11 through June 25. The survey sought to assess how employment practices — including recruiting, hiring and retaining workers — have changed over the past five years for people with disabilities and overall.

Among nearly 3,800 supervisors surveyed, 16.9% said they had a disability, said Andrew Houtenville, a professor at the University of New Hampshire and the report's lead author.

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