Quotas for the humiliation of people with disabilities

The state is about to take another inadequate step towards the integration of people with disabilities in Bulgaria. Changes to labor legislation are being discussed, according to which companies will be obliged to hire a certain number of employees with disabilities.

Quotas are provided, according to the number of employees in specific companies:

• employers with 20 to 49 workers must employ at least one person with a disability,
• with 50 to 99 – two employees with disabilities,
• with 100 and over 100 – four percent of their average roster.

If the required number of people with disabilities are not hired, the specific company must pay a monthly fee to the fund at the Agency for People with Disabilities in the amount of 30 percent of the minimum wage for each unhired person with a disability.

My thesis is that the envisaged regulation is complete nonsense, it humiliates active people with disabilities in Bulgaria and creates a negative attitude towards people with disabilities in general. Accordingly, instead of achieving the desired effects – such as integration and realization of people with disabilities – it will have a very small partial positive effect for some people, but quite negative effects in general. In general, we are completely entering the situation Visible and Invisible, described by the French economist Frederic Bastiat.

The main reason for this is that the state does not have the necessary information either about the needs of people with disabilities, or about the ways in which they are realized, or about the specific situations in which this happens, or about the ways in which this happens sustainably and constructively. At the very beginning, I make the reservation that I am aware that many companies do not look favorably on people with disabilities and would not appoint such an employee. However, this is a matter of natural development of culture in Bulgaria, and such regulations would only worsen the attitude of business towards this segment of the labor market.

And, let me not forget, I speak from the perspective of a successful person with a disability. I have cerebral palsy, but I also have a small copywriting business and I also work as a copywriter for a large international company.

Let's begin...

The humiliation

Most politicians in Bulgaria and a huge part of Bulgarian society have an extremely ridiculous and humiliating attitude towards people with disabilities. This is partly due to accumulated complexes, partly to collectivist-altruistic thinking.

This creates and maintains the perception that people with disabilities are a highly homogeneous group of suffering beings who constantly need help and nothing but help. And as individuals tire of pity and sympathy, the responsibility for care is transferred to the state.

Which country turns a slimy altruistic attitude into inadequate social measures. And these social measures have nothing to do with the character, habits, philosophy and needs of truly active people with disabilities – those who truly integrate successfully. This maintains the ridiculous situation that the state and society wash their hands of yet another altruistic act, while active people with disabilities are humiliated and left in the shadows.

There are many examples of the consequences of such situations. For example, instead of making schools accessible to people with disabilities, money is spent on specialized institutions where “different children” can grow up and study. Instead of thinking about an accessible urban environment and accessible transportation for people with disabilities, money is given for domestic helpers. Instead of distributing assistant payments according to the activity of the person with disabilities and the real needs that they encounter in their daily lives, from time to time there is discussion about them being social assistance for the family.

In practice, for the truly active and proud person with a disability, this altruistic attitude is humiliating, and even its minimal effects often do not reach him. Precisely because he is not a "fallen and suffering disabled person."

In fact, true integration occurs in a natural environment. You can't be truly integrated if the other party tries in every way to "accept you as a person with a disability." None of my friends and I hope none of my clients and colleagues accept me as a person with a disability. Yes, they help me in specific situations with physical obstacles, but for them I remain:

• Marto, with whom I drink my brandy
• Marto, with whom I go out, celebrate, organize dinners, because he is my friend
• Martin Tarpev, who will write the texts for my website
• My colleague Martin, who is responsible for the advertising texts for this campaign

Any other and altruistic attitude is offensive and humiliating to me, so I generally look with mockery at any typical social programs for people with disabilities. Moreover: I know from experience that these programs are mostly insincerely motivated and imbued with pity. Which makes them hollow and misleading.

I dare to say that initially, people with disabilities who can be good employees are of my mindset. That is, it is likely that even if the quotas for people with disabilities are filled, this will be largely with some unproductive employees who are truly a burden on companies. And who will ultimately undermine the authority of adequate people with disabilities.

Because people with disabilities are different individuals , not a homogeneous group. Which brings us to the next problem with the quotas provided by the state.

Lack of knowledge

Due to the pity-altruistic-collectivist approach, the measures envisaged by the state for the employment of people with disabilities suffer from a shortcoming pointed out by the Austrian economist Friedrich von Hayek.

They are created and imposed without knowledge of the real cases in the employment of people with disabilities. Why exactly is this happening?

In short, bureaucrats do not and cannot have any idea about the specific details in the life and work of an active person with disabilities. What's more: for decades, active people with disabilities in Bulgaria have been raising the alarm about the inadequacy of considering a person with disabilities as a medical record.

Alas, the state cannot change this practice much, precisely because of the lack of knowledge about the real opportunities and needs of active people with disabilities.

Because, as Hayek points out, knowledge in economics is scattered. How so?

An active and proud person with a disability educates himself, develops work skills, according to the specifics of his WHOLE personality, and from this perspective enters into specific relationships with clients, colleagues, and employers . Two people with the same diagnosis – for example, cerebral palsy – can be quite different in terms of opportunities, needs, habits, and work specifics.

Even if we focus on the disability – which would be wrong – the behavior of the specific person with a disability in the specific situation still presents unique challenges. Sometimes even the person with a disability himself does not know how he will cope with them and may not even be aware of their existence before he finds himself in the situation.

For example, I have a problem with my hands. I get spasms when I have to make finer movements. I myself don't know in which situations exactly how this will hinder me and what the solutions will be. But with my colleagues - who are very cool and cool people - we find solutions on the spot. That's how we build our working practices. We use more technology, I avoid taking on tasks that require entering data into Excel tables - because I'm slower - we use the practice of summarizing what was discussed and we send each other Minutes of the meeting by email and many others.

As you can see, we don't approach it from the perspective of the regrettable "integration of people with disabilities", but we really find solutions that actually include me in the work process. It's the same with my clients. I have prepared practices and formats for them to give me their copywriting assignments, I use a tablet during meetings, sometimes I use the voice recorder on my smartphone.

This is true integration. In the real situation, among the details of that situation, equipped with pride, self-respect and a liberated mind. True integration into the labor market occurs when the person with a disability applies and develops his specific skills, performing tasks assigned to him by bosses, colleagues, clients.

Visible and invisible

What I have described is exactly the case described by the French economist Bastiat. The state does not have the slightest idea of how active people actually cope with arrangements and what the real challenges are for them. Therefore, when it makes such policies, it actually creates many invisible negative effects, behind the sentimental "let's lend a hand to people with disabilities in the harsh world of business."

Such invisible effects are, for example:

• Creating tension between businesses, people with disabilities and their colleagues
• Creating obstacles to the realization of people with disabilities. Employers either do not hire them because of related regulations, or hire them in positions that are humiliating for some professionals with disabilities and prevent them from developing their skills.
• Some people with disabilities are demotivated to develop skills. I have met such people. They think that social programs will push them to life and do not push themselves much. As a result, they do not discover and develop specific work skills and habits and really become constant users of social programs. And they live from social program to social program.
• The rather worrying situation is maintained: "Well, you were hired/or accepted into the given circle, but somehow by force, by grace, because we have to be good."

What is invisible is that a layer of people with disabilities is created and maintained who truly cannot realize themselves in the authentic sense of the word.

And this stratum becomes the electorate of left-wing politicians.

Which brings us to motivation, evaluations, and… Mises…

The problem with evaluation

In his treatise on economics, the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises emphasizes the importance of subjective assessments for price formation and subsequently for carrying out various economic calculations and actions.

However, quotas for people with disabilities are planned outside the situation of subjective assessments of individual people with disabilities and individual companies. It's just that a company has to hire a certain fixed percentage of people with disabilities. On what basis? Simply because politicians say so.

However, every company is different, has different needs and different cash flow. Some companies value one type of employee more highly – for example, analysts, or accountants, or administrators, while other companies need more marketing experts, online communication specialists, project managers, copywriters. People with disabilities also evaluate work situations and opportunities differently. In addition to different disabilities, they have, more importantly, a different approach to their disability.

And accordingly, they develop in different professional fields with this different approach. Again, I will emphasize strongly that for a truly active and proud person with a disability, it is not the disability itself that is the leading factor for action, but their real interests, desires for realization, motives and concrete opportunities.

Despite my physical difficulties, I find areas in which I can be useful. I take advantage of technology and the digitalization of the world, I realize myself in the field of copywriting and online marketing in my own way, and no one, except me, my colleagues, my bosses, my partners and my clients, can evaluate neither my work, nor the environment in which I work, nor the needs of the products of my labor, nor my results.

Precisely because, in order to make these assessments, you need detailed data from the specific work situations I find myself in . Only in specific situations does the information necessary to assess the potential of an employee with a disability exist – when you appoint him to a relevant position, with relevant responsibilities, having previously assessed him subjectively as a specialist.

In reality, I am not fulfilled by my disability – my stiff legs do not create advertising texts for websites– but by all the qualities of my work that are invisible to the state, which I, my employer and my clients value. Therefore, in practice, the quotas for people with disabilities do not have an adequate basis for calculation. And when you say that such and such a company should employ so and so many people with disabilities, you are shooting in the dark.

Why so much? With what skills? For what job? At what salary? For how long?

The state doesn't know, companies don't care, politicians seem "very caring."

A sad story.

And actually...

Companies hire people with disabilities without regulations

This is where a truly pitiful story unfolds. Some totally illiterate people with and without disabilities grumble, blaming the harshness of "bad business and bad capitalists", politicians pretend to be grandiose and concerned (only the Star Wars tune is missing when they give interviews), and some companies are already solving the problem!

Without making too much noise.

These are truly worthy people, worthy employers, worthy capitalists!

For example, Telenor! Telenor has a special program for hiring people with disabilities. It is called Open Mind. And every year the company hires a new group of employees with disabilities, who gain invaluable skills and experience in a real business environment. Coca Cola also has an established practice of hiring people with disabilities, long before Bulgarian politicians thought of imposing quotas.

And pay attention...

Because these are voluntary initiatives of the companies themselves, the labor integration of people with disabilities in these companies is genuine.

Companies are really hiring employees with disabilities who are actually working and have real positions. This way, people with disabilities are really gaining professional experience and building a work culture in a real work environment. And they are hired not for the humiliating reason - government regulation - but because their specific skills are valued.

It is important to note that when serious companies hire people with disabilities on their own initiative, the work environment is truly supportive. For at least the following reasons:

1. Because they don't force it, companies really prepare an accessible environment for employees with disabilities. Ramps, elevators, doors that open with photocells and buttons are prepared. And everything is prepared in advance because it is part of the company's business strategy, not a quick, almost panicked response to government regulation.
2. Because it is serious companies that hire people with disabilities, they already have the necessary culture for true integration. Serious companies employ more intelligent and well-mannered people who truly become supportive colleagues of the person with a disability, and when the motives come from a real business incentive, true integration happens. And where such a culture is lacking, it is quickly built in the process of work.
3. Because it's a corporate policy, the disabled employee is not accepted as an intruder who "needs to be helped, for the sake of regulation," but as a real part of the team. And he really gains experience. And he feels proud and valued.

Of course, companies make mistakes too. People make mistakes in general. However, sincerity and a pro-market approach in private business are the working means for cleaning up these mistakes. And for cleaning them up sustainably.

And the state actually hinders companies quite a bit - including preventing them from sustainably hiring people with disabilities.

In practice, the more, bigger and richer the companies in Bulgaria become, the greater the chances for employment of people with disabilities. This is due to many things. Financial opportunity to hire employees, financial opportunity to build an accessible environment, development of culture among employees. Thus, in a real work environment, companies sustainably develop their approach to employees with disabilities.

However, the state creates obstacles to these processes. And typically, when one regulation screws something up, another follows, supposedly to fix things, but screws them up even further.

Business doesn't care about people with disabilities? That's not true. There are companies with a negative attitude, yes, but this is due to the general Bulgarian inadequacy on the subject, not to any sinister nature of the business.

In fact, the trends are currently reversing. Companies are increasingly realizing that people with disabilities are a desirable group to hire because:

• They accept their hiring more emotionally, as a sign of the company's high culture, and are highly motivated to prove themselves. Which often makes them excellent and very conscientious employees.
• When companies hire people with disabilities, they develop their culture and improve their reputation. Contrary to many people, I think it's okay to do PR when you do good things.
• Active people with disabilities can be quite interesting and useful employees. And this is beyond their motivation. The truth is that when you have a disability, but you are an active, confident and proud person, you look for and find ways, not problems in your life. This is how you acquire a variety of knowledge and skills that are useful for business. And more importantly, you acquire the attitude to always look for a way to cope. Because you are truly motivated. This naturally raises your price.

Thus, in practice, companies that hire people with disabilities naturally and voluntarily learn a lot about the philosophy and life of active people with disabilities and hire useful employees. People with disabilities with a real chance for development in a specific professional field, who are loyal to the company, at least because of the opportunity for professional development given.

All of this disappears if people with disabilities are hired under duress and simply to fill a quota.

Moreover, it is a bit impudent for the state to talk about quotas for people with disabilities, and at the same time...

To create obstacles to their employment.

Besides being brazen, it's also schizophrenic.

For years, active people with disabilities have suffered from government regulations on business. The state, in fact, often artificially raises the price of employees with disabilities through a number of inadequate requirements for employers.

For example:

• There are very strict and specifically written requirements for the conditions in which an employee with a disability must work. But the medical assessment is often far from reality. Regardless of their diagnosis, active people with disabilities have different opportunities and needs. Therefore, when the state sets mandatory conditions for companies for the office environment, for example, relying mainly on medical expertise on the condition and opportunities, this often has nothing to do with specific employees with disabilities and their positions and requirements. But these conditions become the reason for a candidate for a job with a disability not to be hired, as they artificially increase the cost of it.
• Firing employees with disabilities is also a problem. The state also sets various conditions there, which repels companies.

There are still many government burdens on businesses that prevent them from hiring new employees in general, especially employees with disabilities.

Therefore, if the State has a sincere desire to do something positive, it would be best to focus on removing burdens for business. Any tax breaks, removed regulations, relaxed or even absent requirements for hiring people with disabilities are welcome.

Real social initiatives for people with disabilities

In addition to company initiatives, there are also a number of initiatives for people with disabilities run by non-profit organizations.

Many of these initiatives are aimed precisely at finding jobs for people with disabilities.

For example, the initiatives of the Jamba organization are extremely useful and positive. They are like an HR agency for people with disabilities, which, however, in addition to searching for job positions for people with disabilities, also deals with training. Jamba takes part in various initiatives to support the integration of people with disabilities. For example, I participated in their initiative to improve the working environment.

Also with the participation of Jamba, a Career Forum for people with disabilities is held, where job candidates are interviewed. With the support of Jamba, a friend of mine recently started a job.

So, that's it for now. Let's be truly values-driven, not ostentatiously altruistic.

Accepting a person with a disability solely as an object of help ultimately does not help anyone. Especially not the true integration of people with disabilities.

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