During the Great Resignation, also known as “an unprecedented mass exit from the workforce,” 47 million people in the United States left their employment in pursuit of better opportunities. This phenomenon was defined in the Harvard Business Review as “an unprecedented mass exodus from the labor.” We were informed about the subsequent imbalance as well as the ways in which labor shortages shook nearly every industry in our economy.
People with disabilities are a demographic that is much too frequently ignored, but they may be able to fill some of the holes that have been left. In the process of determining how to staff up, business leaders around the country are faced with a challenge: I want them to look in places they may have overlooked in the past.
According to recent findings published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, in the year 2021, just 19% of People with disabilities were employed. Although while it is still a very modest percentage, the fact that it increased to 21% in 2022 makes me very happy. As compared to the employment rate of persons who do not have a handicap in 2022, which is expected to be 65.4 percent, there is still an extremely large discrepancy. Even if there has been growth, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities remains at an unacceptablely high level, and it is not known why these people are not being employed.
The National Association for the Employment of Persons Who Are Blind is currently led by me in my capacity as its president. In addition to that, I serve as the president and chief executive officer of Bosma Enterprises. Because we are structured as a social enterprise, our company is able to supply the public sector and private industry with essential goods and services. We, like other NAEPB member organizations around the country, have successfully incorporated persons who are blind at all levels of our company. This has been a very positive experience for everyone involved.
We at Bosma are proud to say that our order entry, fulfillment, and on-time delivery rates are all very close to perfect. This performance is not exclusive to Bosma; it also takes place at several other NAPEB organizations around the country. We have years of expertise that have led to the establishment of thousands of jobs of a high quality at all different levels, from entry level to executive.
By hiring a person with a handicap, you will not have to make any sacrifices in terms of quality or performance, which is the most important thing that I want to convey to businesses around the country. On the other hand, I believe that the intangibles, such as having a workforce that is both devoted and talented, are just as important as the actual commercial advantages.
The moment has come to make investments in the hidden workforce that is standing right in front of us. Employ a person who is living with a handicap.