Disabled veterans look to employers to help with ‘difficult’ transition to civilian work

Many employers (57%) see veteran outreach as an essential part of their recruitment strategy, but few (35%) make specific outreach efforts to veterans with disabilities. However, there may be a lack of awareness that almost one-third¹ of the nearly 8.4 million veterans who are employed nationwide² has a disability, and their needs in the workplace may be quite different than those of their nondisabled colleagues.

With this in mind, Voya Cares and Easterseals commissioned original research to look beyond efforts to hire veterans to better understand what it means to support veterans with disabilities and their caregivers.

To begin, veterans with disabilities indicated that they experience greater difficulties and lack support when transitioning to civilian work.

One way that this transition is easing is that employers are starting to recognize that stereotypes about hiring veterans with disabilities and their perceived physical or mental limitations are just that, stereotypes, but these biased perceptions persist. Twenty-nine percent of employers still say that physical health is a challenge when hiring disabled veterans, and 25% say mental and emotional health is a challenge.

Employers also are seeing that the outdated perception that disabled veterans are hesitant to disclose their disability or accommodation needs is changing. Sixty-five percent of disabled veterans say they have disclosed their disability to their employers, while nationwide, fewer than 5% of U.S. employees have voluntarily reported that they have a disability.³

So as stereotypes about disabled veteran employees are disproven, how can employers create a culture that will further ease the transition from service and encourage disabled veterans to self-identify?

First, recognize that, when hiring veterans, there is a possibility that veterans with disabilities are being hired. Consider building a welcoming and supportive culture for disabled veterans through:

• Onboarding materials that are adapted specifically to the disabled veteran employee, communicating benefits information that addresses their specific needs,
• Ongoing employee education and awareness building about the traditions and values of this employee group,
• A veterans employee resource group to provide camaraderie and peer support,
• And a mentoring program to help disabled veteran employees acclimate to the corporate culture.

Second, be proactive in creating a culture that is safe and inclusive for disabled veterans and their caregivers to disclose their situations and their needs. Consider offering training to both managers and employees to reduce bias and stigma around disabilities — especially mental health, which 31% of disabled veterans still point to as a barrier to finding work or finding better work.

Lastly, collaborate with nonprofit Veteran Services Organizations to create opportunities for disabled veterans and their caregivers to have confidential conversations about their needs with partners that could offer support. Voya Cares collaborated with Easterseals to commission this research precisely because it is well known for its grass-roots efforts to provide veterans with resources for meaningful employment, education and overall wellness since World War II.

To find out more about these or for more tips and actions that employers can use to support and retain disabled veteran employees, see the Voya Cares and Easterseals research paper, Disabled Veterans and employers: moving from surviving to thriving at voyacares.com/disabledvets.