The Employer Disability Practices Center
The Rutgers Employer Disability Practices Center established by the Program for Disability Research at Rutgers University conducts research to examine the efficacy and scalability of employer practices. The overarching research goal for the EDPC is to strengthen employee-employer trust and improve employment outcomes for workers with disabilities.
About
In 2021, NOD was awarded a federal grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The objective was to build and implement a 5-year Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) alongside Rutgers University, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse College of Law (BBI), the Indiana University School of Medicine Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC), and Harvard University.
Current Projects
Engagement Survey
The NOD Engagement Survey is a free tool that measures employee perceptions around disability inclusion in the workplace. The survey is administered by employers at the employee-level across up to 30 employers, allowing participating organizations to see their results against an aggregated benchmark and understand the impact of specific programs and policies on disability inclusion in the workplace.
The NOD Engagement Survey is designed to be taken by a representative sample of all US-based employees—both with and without disabilities—since employees without disabilities have valuable perceptions on disability inclusion. The data from this new tool will be analyzed (aggregated, de-identified) alongside data from the NOD Employment Tracker™ to get a 360-degree view of disability inclusion programs, policies and practices, as well as to build a longitudinal panel dataset which NOD and our partners will use to provide detailed insights to the field. Learn More >
For questions or to register for the Engagement Survey, contact us at engagement@nod.org
Workplace Accommodations
This Clustered Randomized Controlled Trial (CRCT) research study will examine the use of workplace accommodations for people with mental health and other non-apparent disabilities. The project intends to identify, test and evaluate interventions that can destigmatize mental health and other non-apparent disabilities and create a culture of trust and psychological safety that will encourage employees to disclose their disabilities and get needed accommodations.
The core intervention of this study is a set of trainings that will be administered over a one year period to 3-4 units, with each unit comprised of at least 300 individuals. The research team will work with employers to determine what comprises a “unit” (i.e., a department, a cross-functional team, etc). Project content, such as trainings and surveys, will be delivered via a web-based platform that will not require any integration with existing employer technology, with all messaging, training, and data collection to be managed by Syracuse.
To learn more about the CRCT research study, reach out to pevsnerj@nod.org.
Publications
Wellbeing Brief
This Brief considers efforts by one large professional services firm to change the landscape of wellbeing within its workplace culture. It examines relevant academic research and frames the firm’s efforts within research-identified best practices and challenges.
The purpose of this brief is to understand the development and implementation of this well-established wellbeing initiative, consider how it compares with research identifying successes and pitfalls related to other employee wellbeing programs, and assist similar organizations in considering methods to pursue effective wellbeing initiatives and programs.