Attitudinal barriers: attitudes, perceptions and culture in the workplace
More than just a job – the impact of attitudes on disability employment
Approaches to closing the Disability Employment Gap have often focused on practical barriers and solutions. These include workplace adjustments, flexible working, accessible transport, buildings and technology.
Our first Employment Blueprint report, Structural Barriers, outlined the most significant challenges. And our recommendations for tackling these practical barriers.
But despite its impact, another structural barrier receives less focus from policy makers. We regularly talk to disabled people and their families about necessary support. Changing attitudes was consistently raised as a top priority.
Non-disabled people continue to hold negative attitudes about the capabilities of disabled people. They then act on these attitudes at home, in wider society, and in the workplace.
Meanwhile, disabled people told us that others accuse them of “claiming they are disabled” or “trying it on to get a free ride”. Also labelled “lazy” or “scroungers”. And at work, colleagues accuse them of seeking “special treatment”.
This rhetoric can affect disabled people’s confidence, belief in their abilities and resilience. Its effects can also build over time. Particularly when disabled people experience negative attitudes and hostility every day.
Negative attitudes and discrimination can also prevent disabled people from receiving the support they need to enter, stay in and progress in work. They also underpin structural barriers in education.
And when non-disabled peers and managers fail to act against a hostile and inaccessible culture, disabled people fall out of work.
Faith, Scope’s Work Without Barriers campaign
[I had] an adapted workstation… [but] was forced to use a standard desk … while [a non-disabled colleague] used my ergonomic disability-orientated desk set-up. … [They] complained that I 'just wanted a nicer desk'…[and] insisted I was just 'entitled', shouted at me. … [Yet] when management stepped in, [they] sided with the other staff member. … I had to resign in the end”
Around 1 million disabled people in the UK want to work but are being denied the opportunity. This is not due to a lack of ambition or talent.
For too long, the conversation has focused on changing disabled people instead of fixing the systems failing them. Too often, disabled people are told that they need more “motivation”. Or fewer benefits to “encourage” them into work. This creates further challenges for disabled people seeking employment.
Instead, negative attitudes can lead to harmful behaviours. Together, these contribute to many of the barriers and inequalities disabled people face every day.
Employment journey experiences
Scope’s Our Lives, Our Journey longitudinal research and Work Without Barriers campaign gave disabled people and their families opportunities to share their employment journey experiences.
From the stories shared, we saw evidence of clear and obvious discrimination. Yet we also consistently heard about the more ‘everyday’ experiences of negative attitudes and behaviours. These experiences were much harder to identify and challenge as direct discrimination. For example:
- being repeatedly rejected for job roles at interview. Often only after sharing an impairment or condition.
- receiving negative and hostile comments. Including assumptions about specific impairments and conditions.
- choosing venues and activities for work and social events that excluded some disabled colleagues.
- managers and colleagues repeatedly failing to provide workplace adjustments. Or questioning the need for adjustments entirely.
Disabled people can face various negative experiences at work, including indirect discrimination. Collectively, these can leave them feeling unworthy, unvalued and unwanted. This has a significant impact on trust, confidence and aspirations. Often following them throughout their employment journey.
Three important themes stand out:
- assumptions and judgement before work begins
- being let down in the workplace
- the lasting effects of negative employment experiences
1. Attitudes close doors even before work begins
Before applying for a work placement, Charlie had another important decision to make. Whether to share that they are disabled. A common dilemma experienced by most disabled people looking for work. Charlie knew discrimination was unlawful. But worried that an employer would reject their application based on assumptions about disability.
Charlie, OLOJ Wave 2 cohortI personally feel if they want to reject you because of your health, they’ll find another reason to reject you"
For someone seeking a new employment opportunity, this uncertainty creates an extra burden. Alongside an application and demonstrating their skills, disabled people face an additional consideration. They must decide whether saying they are disabled will change how an employer perceives them.
Kaylee’s story shows how repeated rejection can affect motivation and confidence. It can also destroy hope of finding suitable work and limit employment ambitions. Kaylee’s previous recruitment experiences put her off certain employers and industries. She mainly applied for care work because it was the only sector that had previously employed her.
Kaylee, OLOJ Wave 2 cohortIt makes me not want to apply to other [employers]. Because I don’t want any hope to build up,…and then there’s no answer or you’re turned down."
Recruitment processes should provide opportunity to discuss support needed. Rather than being shaped by assumptions about capability. Charlie and Kaylee’s experiences show why this matters long before someone starts a job. Attitudes often affect whether disabled people feel trust and confidence when applying for jobs.
2. Promises of support must become a reality
Claudia’s experience shows the painful difference between agreeing adjustments and providing them in practice. She described being given tasks she could not do, then being told she had failed when she did not complete them.
Claudia, OLOJ Wave 3 cohort[My manager] just kept on putting tasks on me that were impossible for me to do. And then [they said] I’d ‘failed’ because I hadn’t done a job.”
An agreement on adjustments and support can offer reassurance. But that reassurance disappears if everyday expectations do not reflect it. Having to repeatedly explain why agreed support matters can become a barrier at work.
Claudia, OLOJ Wave 3 cohortAlthough every adjustment I’d asked for on paper [was agreed],…that’s not what happens in practice.”
Claudia’s experience shows that inclusion goes beyond policies and approved adjustments. It depends on whether that support is consistently provided in practice. What matters is what happens afterwards.
A supportive workplace is not defined only by the promises made to disabled employees. It depends on providing effective disability support in practice. Appropriate adjustments must be available every working day.
Employers must check that adjustments are working for disabled employees. They must also review arrangements when an employee’s responsibilities or support needs change.
3. The lasting effect of previous experiences
Ellie found another job after being pushed out of their previous workplace. They had been bullied after their condition worsened and they became disabled. But moving to a new employer did not mean that Ellie left the effects of their past experience behind. They were anxious about what would happen in their new role if they needed to discuss adjustments again.
Ellie, Scope’s Work Without Barriers campaignThankfully I found a new job, but I carry a huge amount of anxiety and trauma from my previous experience. So I dread when I have to raise the question with my new employer”
Sarah described a similar lasting effect. After losing their job following their employer’s response to their sight loss, they stopped asking for adjustments in later roles. An experience in one workplace had changed what they felt able to request elsewhere.
Sarah, Scope’s Work Without Barriers campaign“I was got rid of in the end. So I didn’t ask for any reasonable adjustments [at any other job] after that”
These accounts show why silence should not be mistaken for an absence of need. Someone may be reluctant to ask for support after a previous request caused distress or harm. Building trust requires reliable and consistent support. It also means giving people time to discuss their needs and listening without judgement.
Claudia, OLOJ Wave 3 cohort“The cumulative impact [of my workplace experiences] is I just don’t trust [employers]. I would really struggle to trust any organisation now, to get back into work”
The lasting impact of attitudes and discrimination
These experiences show that attitudes are not a secondary issue. They shape recruitment decisions and workplace culture. They also influence whether employers provide support. And how disabled people view their place in the job market. Negative assumptions, low expectations and poor awareness can create barriers. These can be just as significant as inaccessible workplaces or delayed adjustments.
Attitudinal barriers affect the entire employment journey. They can impact whether an individual feels able to say that they are disabled, ask for support, pursue a promotion or apply for a role. This impact also builds up over time. Repeated experiences of being overlooked, doubted or dismissed do not remain isolated incidents. Together, they have a significant affect disabled peoples’ confidence, trust and ambition.
The evidence is clear. Accessibility, adjustments and policy all matter. But without changing attitudes, many disabled people will still face workplace barriers. Adjustments, policies and employment processes cannot remove these barriers on their own.
Our next publication will continue to explore structural barriers. It will focus on the impact of attitudes and policies and procedures on employment.