Comparing the impact of vocational rehabilitation and the employment of persons with disabilities on companies: Analysis of existing research

The constant above-average unemployment rate of people with disabilities (PWD) and the failure of government measures to date indicate the need for companies to address this issue themselves. A reliable understanding of the effects and implications of employment of PWD and vocational rehabilitation for strategic corporate management is therefore required to specifically promote the integration of PWD into the labor market. This paper compares the impacts of the two concepts from a management perspective. A literature review was conducted to collect and analyze the state of research for similarities and differences regarding the categories government policies, corporate social responsibility (CSR), benefits and consequences for companies and business opportunities using a summary content analysis. The results suggest that the effects on companies and the resulting implications are identical, at least over a longer period. The employment of PWD, as well as vocational rehabilitation, can be a key to attracting customers with disabilities and thus allowing to enter new market segments.