Companies Profit by Investing in Employees with Disabilities

by Mark Konen

President, Insurance & Retirement Solutions
Lincoln Financial Group

This October marks the 23rd anniversary of the month-long celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). NDEAM was established by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) to emphasize the rich diversity and talent that workers with disabilities bring to the workplace. This year’s theme is “Profit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities.”

Lincoln Financial Group strongly believes that people with disabilities can be an asset to an organization by strengthening the diversity of its workforce, and we are committed to hiring people with disabilities. Diversity and inclusion is about diversity of thought, background, experience, and abilities, among other things, and this is the kind of diversity that drives innovation, supports our growth objectives, and produces results that differentiate us in today’s marketplace. Lincoln Financial has a history of diversity and inclusion that is fundamental and essential to our ability to deliver on our promise to help customers secure their financial futures.

“Our goal is to create an inclusive environment where all of our employees can be fully engaged to share their talents and perspectives, and where opportunities to achieve and succeed are never tied to physical ability.”

Our goal is to create an inclusive environment where all of our employees can be fully engaged to share their talents and perspectives, and where opportunities to achieve and succeed are never tied to physical ability.

We believe that the desire to contribute and to succeed is fundamental in all people, and getting people back to work, whether their disability is temporary or permanent, is one of our major focus areas. A disability can also be defined as an unexpected illness or injury that renders an individual unable to work for a period of time. This is another reason to highlight the importance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month and why we remain committed to educating all adults about protecting themselves against the losses that can occur with short- and long-term disabilities.

According to the Social Security Administration, 25 percent of today’s 20-year-olds will become disabled before they retire. Yet in spite of that statistic, two out of every three working Americans is without protection that would replace or supplement their income – allowing them to address basic physical needs, including living expenses – if they had to miss work due to a covered disabling injury or illness. A person’s biggest financial asset is not their house or retirement portfolio, it’s their income. That’s important to keep in mind, considering that the average monthly benefit paid by Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in June 2010 was $1,065, and that according to the 2006 JHA Disability Fact Book, the average long-term disability absence lasts two and a half years.

The challenge is that, when asked, most Americans do not believe that a disability will happen to them. But according to the CDA, approximately two million Americans have experienced a disabling illness or injury so far this year. In fact, the National Safety Council’s injury facts report tells us that in the U.S., someone becomes disabled every 49 minutes as a result of an injury.

At the end of the day, the goal of most individuals is to return to work, and we share that desire to help them achieve that goal. Whether the disabling condition is short-term, long-term or permanent, Lincoln Financial Group partners with individuals with disabilities to ensure they are receiving the proper accommodations and workplace support to be successful in their jobs.

Lincoln Financial Group is committed to this year’s National Disability Employment Awareness theme, “Profit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities.” We understand the value of investing in all employees by educating Americans about the importance of insuring their ability to have an income stream in the event of a disabling illness or condition, and by employing people with disabilities and providing the necessary support and accommodations to ensure their success.