Joseph Riddle, Director of Neurodiversity in the Workplace, an initiative of SpArc Services, did a great job when he joined the Walgreen Boots Alliance’s 2022 ESG Report Virtual Launch event. 

Walgreens Boots Alliance, a partner of Neurodiversity in the Workplace, is the first company in the S&P 500 to include disability representation as a separate, standalone metric within a disclosed incentive plan. 

During the ESG Report event, Holly May, EVP & Global Human Resources Officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance, sat down with Joseph to debunk myths about disability hiring. In a lightning-round style Q&A, Joseph presented important counterpoints to misconceptions about disability hiring. 

Myth 1 - Employees with disabilities will miss too much work and underperform. 

Joseph’s counterpoint - People who believe this have an incomplete picture of disability. Looking at the prevalence of disability, one in four people will have a disability at any given point in their lives. Companies that have initiatives encouraging disability employment in fact have 28% higher revenue.

Myth 2 - It is too complex to provide accommodations.

Joseph’s counterpoint - Typically, accommodations cost $500 or less, which you can compare to the increased retention of the workforce. We all use tools to do our jobs better. If we give people these tools, we can allow people to do their best work. 

Myth 3 - People with disabilities are not qualified applicants. 

Joseph’s counterpoint - This is not true. In fact, when you include people with disabilities, you have a wider talent pool of qualified individuals who can make valuable contributions to your company.

--

We are grateful to Walgreens Boots Alliance for including us in their ESG Report event, and for the opportunity to do some myth-busting about disability employment.