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The world of work is changing and creating challenges and opportunities for the employment inclusion of young people with disabilities. In this article, the perceptions held by young adults with disabilities regarding participation in the future of work are examined.

One-on-one interviews were conducted with Canadian young adults (ages 18–36 years) living with a disability. Participants were asked about their thoughts regarding the impact of the changing nature of work on their labor market involvement and career aspirations. A thematic analysis was performed to identify and examine emergent salient themes.

In total, 22 young adults were interviewed; over half held secure employment. Career aspirations and work-related decisions were primarily shaped by a participant's health needs. The future of work was seen as a more proximal determinant to employment. Digital technologies were expected to impact working conditions and create barriers and facilitators to employment. Participants who indicated being securely employed held positive expectations regarding the impact of digital technology on their work. Participants working precariously held negative appraisals regarding the impact of digital technologies on employment opportunities. The role of technological and soft skills was critical to participating in a labor market reliant on advanced technology. Participants reported barriers to developing job skills related to their disability and their work arrangements.

This research highlights the importance of considering changes in the future of work, especially the digital transformation of the economy, in the design of initiatives which promote the employment inclusion of young adults with disabilities. Despite the significance of the changing nature of work, supporting health needs and encouraging access to secure work arrangements also remain paramount.

To develop a framework for estimating the economic benefits of an accessible and inclusive society and implement it for the Canadian context. The framework measures the gap between the current situation in terms of accessibility and inclusiveness, and a counterfactual scenario of a fully accessible and inclusive society.

The method consists of three steps. First, the conceptual framework was developed based on a literature review and expert knowledge. Second, the magnitudes for each domain of the framework was estimated for the reference year 2017 using data from various sources. Third, several sensitivity analyses were run using different assumptions and scenarios.

It was estimated that moving to a fully accessible and inclusive society would create a value of $337.7bn (with a range of $252.8–$422.7bn) for Canadian society in the reference year of 2017. This is a sizeable proportion of gross domestic product (17.6%, with a range of 13.1–22.0%) and is likely a conservative estimate of the potential benefits.

Understanding the magnitude of the economic benefits of an accessible and inclusive society can be extremely useful for governments, disability advocates and industry leaders as it provides invaluable information on the benefits of efforts, such as legislation, policies, programs and practices, to improve accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the total economic benefits and the benefits per person with a disability can serve as inputs in economic evaluations and impact assessments.

Although awareness is growing of the importance of employee mental health and the value of inclusive work practices, less is known about how to support employees with mental illness (MI). We aimed to explore organizational strategies and work practices that promote retention and support of employees living with MI in relation to past theory-driven research by building and extending current theory.

We adopted a qualitative case-study approach focussed on organizations that have taken steps towards promoting workplace inclusion for employees with MI. Five diverse Canadian organizations were recruited based on their efforts to build psychologically safe and healthy workplaces, and actively support employees with MI. Data collection in each organization consisted of onsite observation and interviews with workplace stakeholders, including employees with MI, their co-workers, supervisors/managers and human resource professionals. Thirty interviews were conducted from across the five organizations. Data analysis was informed by interpretive description to identify challenges and opportunities.

Two key themes were noted in depictions of supportive workplaces: (1) relationship-focussed workplaces and (2) flexible, inclusive work practices.

These practices highlight how organizations support employees with MI. Despite our focus on organizations working towards inclusion, the stigma associated with MI and the rigidity of some workplace processes continue to limit support and retention. Our findings suggest that organizations should focus on communication processes, support mechanisms, how they reinforce flexibility, inclusion and oversight of employees with MI.