Reasonable Workplace Accommodations: 9 Practical Ways to Remove Barriers and Retain Talent

A qualified employee can have the experience, knowledge, and motivation to succeed while still encountering unnecessary barriers at work.

An inaccessible application form may prevent a strong candidate from applying. A training video without captions may exclude an employee who is deaf or hard of hearing. A rigid schedule may make it difficult for someone to manage disability-related treatment, while a noisy workspace may affect an employee who performs better in a lower-stimulation environment.

These barriers do not necessarily reflect a person’s ability to do the job. They often reflect how recruitment processes, workplace systems, communication methods, and physical environments were designed.

Reasonable workplace accommodations help employers address those barriers through individualized modifications or adjustments. When handled effectively, accommodations can expand access to employment, support job retention, strengthen performance, and help people with disabilities participate more fully in the workplace.

For employers, service providers, disability employment organizations, and workforce leaders, creating a clear accommodation process is an essential part of building sustainable inclusive employment.

What Are Reasonable Workplace Accommodations?

Reasonable workplace accommodations are necessary and appropriate changes that enable a person with a disability to access employment, perform essential job responsibilities, or participate in workplace opportunities on an equal basis with others.

Depending on the country or organization, they may also be called reasonable adjustments, workplace adjustments, job accommodations, or individualized accessibility measures.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines reasonable accommodation as necessary and appropriate modifications or adjustments that do not create a disproportionate or undue burden and are needed in a particular situation to support equal participation.

An accommodation may involve changing how information is provided, where work is performed, when tasks are completed, what equipment is used, or how an employee communicates with supervisors and coworkers.

Examples may include:

• Providing screen-reading or speech-recognition software

• Offering interview questions in writing

• Adjusting a workstation or piece of equipment

• Creating a quieter workspace

• Modifying working hours

• Allowing additional breaks

• Providing captions, sign-language interpretation, or accessible documents

• Reorganizing nonessential job duties

• Offering remote or hybrid work when appropriate

• Providing individualized job coaching or workplace support

The appropriate solution depends on the individual, the barrier, the essential requirements of the position, and the employer’s operational circumstances.

Who Can Benefit From Workplace Accommodations?

Workplace accommodations may support job applicants, new hires, established employees, employees returning after an illness or injury, and workers whose needs change over time.

They can benefit people with visible and non-visible disabilities, including individuals with mobility, sensory, intellectual, developmental, neurological, psychological, or chronic health-related disabilities.

Two people with the same disability may require completely different accommodations. One person may need assistive technology, while another may need a change in communication style or schedule. An effective process therefore focuses on the person’s actual barrier and employment responsibilities rather than making assumptions based on a diagnosis.

Accommodations may be relevant during every stage of employment, including:

• Job advertising and applications

• Interviews and assessments

• Onboarding and training

• Daily work activities

• Meetings and workplace events

• Performance management

• Professional development

• Promotion

• Return-to-work planning

• Changes in technology, duties, or working conditions

  
  

The right to work described in Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities includes access to employment in a labor market and work environment that are open, inclusive, and accessible. It also addresses recruitment, career advancement, job retention, and reasonable accommodation in the workplace.

Legal requirements, documentation standards, terminology, and decision-making processes vary between countries. Employers should combine inclusive best practices with guidance relevant to the laws and employment systems where they operate.

Accessibility and Accommodation Are Not the Same

Accessibility and reasonable accommodation are connected, but they serve different purposes.

Accessibility involves designing workplaces, technology, communication, and employment systems so they can be used by as many people as possible from the beginning.

Examples of accessibility include:

• An application platform that works with screen readers

• Step-free access to a building

• Captioned training videos

• Accessible restrooms

• Clear navigation on an employee portal

• Multiple ways to communicate with human resources

• Documents created in accessible digital formats

  
  

Reasonable accommodation responds to a specific person’s individual needs.

For example, an employer may provide captioned videos as a standard accessibility practice while also arranging a sign-language interpreter for an employee participating in a complex training session.

Accessible design can reduce the number of individual changes employees need to request, but it cannot anticipate every situation. Organizations need both accessible systems and a responsive accommodation process.

How Reasonable Workplace Accommodations Support Inclusive Employment

Reasonable workplace accommodations help remove barriers that are unrelated to a person’s ability to perform meaningful work.

This approach helps employers evaluate talent more accurately. Instead of measuring how well a candidate can navigate an inaccessible process, the organization can focus on whether that person has the qualifications, skills, and potential required for the role.

Accommodations can also help employees remain in positions where they have already developed valuable knowledge and experience. When a worker acquires a disability, experiences a change in health, or encounters a new workplace barrier, an effective adjustment may make continued employment possible.

The International Labour Organization identifies attitudinal, physical, and informational barriers as significant obstacles to equal opportunity in the world of work. It also describes reasonable accommodation as necessary and appropriate modifications that enable people with disabilities to participate more equally.

The goal is not to lower meaningful performance expectations. It is to remove preventable barriers so employees can demonstrate their abilities and meet the essential responsibilities of their positions.

1. Create a Clear Accommodation Process

Employees and applicants should know how to request assistance, who will handle the request, and what will happen next.

Without a clear process, people may delay asking for an accommodation because they are uncertain about confidentiality, documentation, approval, or how the request will affect their employment.

A practical process should explain:

• Who can make a request

• How requests can be submitted

• Whether verbal and written requests are accepted

• Who reviews the request

• How confidentiality is protected

• How decisions are communicated

• How approved changes are implemented

• How concerns or disagreements are addressed

• When accommodations will be reviewed

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The process should be accessible in itself. An employee should not have to complete an inaccessible form to request accessibility support.

Organizations should also provide more than one point of contact when possible. Some employees may be comfortable speaking with a manager, while others may prefer human resources, an accommodation coordinator, a disability inclusion representative, or another designated contact.

A clear process reduces uncertainty for employees and managers. It also helps the organization respond consistently instead of improvising each time a need arises.

2. Focus on the Barrier and the Essential Job Functions

An accommodation discussion should focus on what barrier the person is experiencing, what job functions are essential, and what change may support effective performance.

Managers do not need to become medical experts. Their role is to understand the workplace issue and participate in finding a practical solution.

Helpful questions may include:

• What part of the application, workplace, or job is creating a barrier?

• Which essential responsibility is affected?

• What change would make the responsibility more accessible?

• Has the individual used an effective adjustment before?

• Are there alternative solutions that may achieve the same result?

• How will the accommodation be implemented and reviewed?

  
  

The conversation should avoid assumptions about what a person can or cannot do.

For example, an employer should not automatically conclude that an employee with a mobility disability cannot perform a position involving travel. The relevant question is whether the essential travel requirements can be completed with accessible transportation, modified arrangements, remote participation, or another appropriate solution.

A person-centered discussion creates better results because it connects the accommodation to the employee’s actual responsibilities and experience.

3. Make Recruitment and Interviews Accessible

Workplace inclusion begins before a person is hired.

An inaccessible recruitment process can eliminate qualified candidates before an employer has the opportunity to evaluate their skills. Barriers may appear in job descriptions, online applications, assessments, interview locations, communication methods, or assumptions about how a task must be completed.

Employers can improve recruitment by:

• Writing job descriptions around essential responsibilities

• Removing unnecessary physical or communication requirements

• Using accessible application platforms

• Providing contact information for accommodation requests

• Offering interview information in advance

• Making interview locations physically accessible

• Allowing remote interviews when appropriate

• Providing captions or interpreters

• Offering additional time for assessments when needed

• Ensuring practical tests measure job-related abilities

  
  

A job description should explain what outcome the employee must achieve without unnecessarily limiting how that outcome can be achieved.

For example, “communicate information effectively with customers” may be more accurate than requiring all communication to happen by telephone when email, chat, adaptive technology, or another method could fulfill the same business need.

Employers should also state that accommodations are available during recruitment. This signals that candidates can request what they need without having to determine whether the organization is open to the conversation.

4. Provide Information in Accessible Formats

Employees need to access the information required to perform their jobs, understand workplace policies, participate in training, and make informed decisions.

Accessible communication may include:

• Screen-reader-compatible documents

• Captions and transcripts

• Sign-language interpretation

• Braille or large-print materials

• Plain-language versions

• Visual instructions

• Audio formats

• Written follow-up after verbal meetings

• Additional time to process information

• Communication devices or software

The correct format depends on the person and the situation.

For example, captions may make a general presentation more accessible, but an employee may still need an interpreter for a technical discussion involving rapid interaction. A plain-language guide may support one employee, while another may benefit from a visual task sequence or recorded demonstration.

Employers should avoid waiting until an important training session begins to ask whether the materials are accessible. Accessibility should be considered while the content is being created and the event is being planned.

Providing information in multiple usable formats can also improve clarity for employees with different communication preferences, language backgrounds, or learning styles.

5. Use Flexible Work Design When Appropriate

A job may have fixed objectives without requiring every employee to complete each task in exactly the same way.

Flexible work design can include changes to scheduling, location, workflow, break patterns, task organization, supervision, or communication.

Examples may include:

• Adjusted start and finish times

• Flexible medical appointment scheduling

• Periodic rest breaks

• Remote or hybrid work

• A phased return after an extended absence

• Written rather than verbal instructions

• Advance notice of schedule changes

• A modified training pace

• Reassignment of nonessential duties

• A quieter or lower-stimulation work area

  
  

Flexibility should be connected to the essential requirements of the role. Some jobs must be performed at a specific location or time, while others allow greater variation.

The accommodation process should explore what is operationally possible rather than assuming that one standard schedule or work method is the only acceptable option.

A successful adjustment should support the employee while allowing the organization to meet legitimate service, productivity, safety, and staffing requirements.

6. Consider Assistive Technology and Equipment

Assistive technology can help employees access information, communicate, navigate a workspace, complete tasks, or work more comfortably.

Depending on the role and the employee, technology may include:

• Screen readers

• Screen magnification

• Speech-recognition software

• Alternative keyboards or pointing devices

• Hearing-assistance systems

• Real-time captioning

• Communication applications

• Ergonomic furniture

• Height-adjustable workstations

• Task-management tools

• Reminder or scheduling systems

• Modified machinery or controls

  
  

The most advanced or expensive option is not automatically the best one. The right solution is the one that effectively addresses the barrier and works within the employee’s actual environment.

Before purchasing equipment, employers should involve the employee, review compatibility with existing systems, and determine whether training or technical support will be needed.

Technology should also be tested within the real workflow. Software may be technically accessible but still create barriers when connected to another platform, security system, or internal process.

An accommodation is not complete simply because a tool has been purchased. The employee must be able to use it effectively as part of the job.

7. Improve Physical and Sensory Access

Physical accessibility extends beyond entrances and ramps.

An employee may need to access workstations, restrooms, elevators, break areas, meeting rooms, parking, emergency exits, equipment, or shared facilities.

Potential physical adjustments may include:

• Reconfiguring furniture

• Moving a workstation

• Providing an accessible parking space

• Installing an automatic door

• Adjusting the height of equipment

• Improving pathways through the workplace

• Adding visual or vibrating emergency alerts

• Providing accessible storage

• Modifying lighting

• Reducing unnecessary background noise

  
  

Sensory conditions can also create workplace barriers.

Bright or flickering lights, strong fragrances, unpredictable noise, visual clutter, or constant interruptions may affect an employee’s ability to concentrate or remain comfortable in the environment.

A sensory accommodation may involve noise-reducing equipment, a different workspace, adjusted lighting, predictable schedules, or access to a quiet area.

Employers should include people with disabilities when reviewing workplace accessibility. A checklist can identify common issues, but lived experience often reveals practical barriers that are easy for others to overlook.

8. Train Managers and Protect Confidentiality

A strong written policy can still fail when managers do not know how to respond to a request.

Supervisors are often the first people to notice that an employee is encountering a barrier or the first people an employee approaches for support. They need enough training to respond respectfully, avoid inappropriate questions, protect privacy, and involve the correct internal resources.

Manager training should address:

• How to recognize a potential accommodation request

• How to listen without making assumptions

• What information should remain confidential

• When to involve human resources or specialists

• How to discuss essential job functions

• How to avoid retaliation or negative treatment

• How to communicate with coworkers without disclosing private information

• How to monitor an accommodation respectfully

  
  

Coworkers generally do not need to know why another employee has a modified schedule, different equipment, or another adjustment.

Managers can explain that the organization supports employees according to individual needs and workplace policy without revealing medical or disability-related details.

Confidentiality builds trust. Employees are more likely to identify barriers early when they believe their information will be handled respectfully.

9. Review and Adjust Accommodations Over Time

An accommodation that works today may need to change later.

The employee’s responsibilities may evolve. New technology may be introduced. The team may move to a different building. A supervisor may change. The employee’s condition or support needs may also develop over time.

Employers should establish appropriate review points without making the employee repeatedly prove a stable and ongoing need.

A review may consider:

• Whether the accommodation was implemented correctly

• Whether it is addressing the original barrier

• Whether the employee can perform the essential job functions

• Whether additional training is needed

• Whether the adjustment is affecting other processes

• Whether a better or more sustainable option is available

• Whether circumstances have changed

  
  

Employees should have a clear way to report that an accommodation is not working.

Review should be collaborative rather than punitive. The purpose is to identify what is effective, solve problems, and maintain a workable arrangement for both the employee and employer.

A Practical Accommodation Conversation

An accommodation process does not need to begin with a perfect solution.

It can begin with a respectful conversation.

First, listen to the person’s experience and identify the specific barrier. Next, clarify the essential requirements connected to that barrier. Explore possible adjustments together, considering the employee’s preferences and the employer’s operating needs.

After selecting an option, determine who will arrange it, what resources are required, and when it will begin. Document the agreed steps while protecting confidential information.

Once the accommodation is in place, schedule an appropriate follow-up. Confirm whether it is working and make changes when necessary.

This interactive process is often more effective than an immediate yes-or-no decision because several different accommodations may address the same barrier.

When a requested option is not feasible, the conversation should continue. The employer and employee may be able to identify an alternative that achieves the required result in another way.

Common Workplace Accommodation Mistakes

Waiting Until Performance Declines

An employee may struggle for weeks before anyone discusses whether a barrier is involved.

Encouraging early communication allows the organization to address the issue before it affects confidence, performance, attendance, or job retention.

Assuming One Solution Fits Everyone

A standard list of accommodations can provide ideas, but it should not replace an individualized discussion.

People with similar disabilities may use different strategies or experience different barriers.

Treating Accommodation as Special Treatment

An accommodation provides access, not an automatic advantage.

Employees remain responsible for essential job functions and meaningful performance expectations. The adjustment changes a barrier that would otherwise prevent equitable participation.

Requiring Unnecessary Personal Information

The process should gather information relevant to understanding the workplace limitation and identifying an effective adjustment.

Organizations should avoid requesting more medical or personal information than is necessary under applicable policies and local laws.

Purchasing Technology Without Testing It

A tool may not work with the organization’s systems or may require configuration and training.

The employee should be involved in evaluating whether the proposed technology addresses the real barrier.

Forgetting Career Development

Employees may receive accommodations for daily tasks but encounter new barriers when applying for training, leadership opportunities, promotion, or professional events.

Inclusive accommodation practices should extend across the employment relationship, not stop after onboarding.

How Accommodations Benefit Employers

Workplace accommodations are often discussed only as an employee need, but employers also benefit from a process that helps qualified people contribute effectively.

An effective accommodation strategy can help organizations:

• Retain trained and experienced employees

• Reduce avoidable workplace barriers

• Expand access to qualified candidates

• Improve communication between employees and managers

• Strengthen return-to-work processes

• Build more accessible training systems

• Increase confidence in disability inclusion

• Identify wider accessibility improvements

• Create a culture where employees can raise concerns early

  
  

The most valuable outcome is not simply that an adjustment was approved. It is that the employee can contribute, the employer can meet its objectives, and both parties have a workable process for responding to change.

Accommodation practices can also reveal weaknesses in systems that affect other employees. An inaccessible platform, unclear training process, or inflexible communication method may be creating difficulties for more people than the organization realizes.

How Disability Employment Service Providers Can Help

Employers do not need to develop every accommodation solution alone.

Disability employment service providers, vocational specialists, accessibility professionals, job coaches, technology experts, and community organizations may help employers understand barriers and identify practical options.

Support may include:

• Job analysis

• Accessible recruitment guidance

• Workplace assessments

• Disability awareness training

• Assistive technology recommendations

• Job coaching

• Supervisor support

• Communication planning

• Return-to-work coordination

• Follow-up after implementation

This service helps employers connect inclusion goals with practical workplace action.

Service providers should work collaboratively with the employee rather than speaking over them. The person receiving the accommodation should remain central to decisions affecting their work and participation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Reasonable Workplace Accommodations

Are Accommodations Only for Permanent Disabilities?

No. Depending on applicable policies and local requirements, accommodations may also support people with temporary, episodic, or changing conditions.

An employee recovering from an injury, managing a recurring condition, or returning after an extended absence may encounter workplace barriers that require an adjustment.

Does Every Person With the Same Disability Need the Same Accommodation?

No.

Disability labels do not determine an individual’s exact needs. The accommodation should be based on the person, the job, the environment, and the specific barrier.

Can Job Applicants Request Accommodations?

Yes. Applicants may need adjustments to access an application, interview, assessment, or recruitment event.

Employers should make information about requesting assistance easy to find and should respond without treating the request as evidence that the person cannot perform the job.

Can Remote Employees Receive Accommodations?

Yes. Remote work can remove some barriers while creating others.

Possible remote-work accommodations include accessible software, captioned meetings, flexible scheduling, alternative communication methods, ergonomic equipment, task-organization support, or adjustments to virtual training.

Are Accessibility and Accommodation Interchangeable?

No.

Accessibility is generally proactive and designed for a broad range of users. Accommodation is individualized and responds to a particular person’s needs. Inclusive employers should address both.

Do Accommodations Remove Performance Standards?

No.

Employees are still expected to perform the essential functions of their jobs. An accommodation changes how a barrier is addressed so the employee has an equitable opportunity to meet those expectations.

What Happens When a Requested Accommodation Is Not Feasible?

The employer should discuss the concern with the employee and explore effective alternatives.

A requested solution may not be the only solution. Another adjustment may remove the barrier without creating the same operational difficulty. Employers should also follow the laws and formal guidance applicable in their jurisdiction.

Should an Accommodation Be Reviewed?

Yes.

A reasonable review helps determine whether the accommodation is effective and whether workplace or individual circumstances have changed. Reviews should be proportionate, respectful, and focused on continued success.

Why Global Collaboration Improves Accommodation Practices

Reasonable accommodation is a global inclusion principle, but workplaces operate within different legal systems, cultures, industries, funding models, and employment structures.

An employer in one country may have access to public funding for assistive technology. An organization in another region may rely more heavily on partnerships with disability employment service providers. Available technology, transportation, workplace design, and terminology can also differ.

Global collaboration allows organizations to compare approaches, share practical solutions, and adapt successful ideas to local contexts.

WorkAbility International has worked across borders since 1987 to address employment barriers and create lasting pathways to meaningful work. Its global community connects organizations across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania through shared knowledge, resources, training, advocacy, leadership, and collaboration.

WorkAbility International also provides reports, research, practical guides, family and guardian support tools, publications, and insights for employers, advocates, and service providers working to strengthen inclusive employment.

By learning from different regions and organizational models, employers and service providers can develop accommodation practices that are more informed, responsive, and sustainable.

Creating an inclusive workplace begins by listening to employees, identifying barriers, and turning good intentions into practical action. Explore WorkAbility International for global resources, collaboration, and strategies that can help your organization strengthen disability employment at www.workability-international.org.