employment of young adults with disabilities in dubai—a case study

Employment of Young Adults With Disabilities inDubai—A Case Studyjppi_341 103..111

Nadera Alborno and Eman GaadFaculty of Education, British University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Abstract The authors investigated the implementation of the United Arab Emirates Federal Law regarding the employment of peoplewith disabilities. They used a case study evaluation of an employment program initiated by a private national landscaping companyin Dubai providing training and employment opportunities for young adults with varied physical and intellectual disabilities. Thestudy examined the effects of the program since its inception in 2006, evaluating it with respect to employees’ productivity and theirpsychological, behavioral, and professional development as well as the impact of the program on the work environment and thesociety in general. The methodology employed a qualitative social constructivist paradigm where the intent was to develop anin-depth exploration of a central phenomenon. The findings showed that the program was successful in offering 36 adults withvarious physical and intellectual disabilities the opportunity of sustainable employment and provided each one of them with a sourceof livelihood, a chance for building social contacts, and more importantly self-esteem—which is a main construct in empoweringpeople with disabilities to integrate in their communities.

Keywords: disability policy, Dubai, employment services, intellectual disabilities, supported employment

INTRODUCTION

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Federal Law No. 29/2006,as amended by Law no. 14/2009, addresses the rights of peoplewith disabilities (Ministry of Social Affairs, 2006). This is theUAE’s first federal law that protects the rights of people withdisabilities, where equal employment opportunities are ensured,as well as the right to a decent life and comprehensive care ineducation, training, health, and rehabilitation. To assess theimpact of this legislation and ascertain how well it is beingimplemented, the Community Development Authority of theGovernment of Dubai undertook a memorandum of under-standing with the “Desert Group,” a major employer that providesa diverse range of services, to undertake an employment programfor people with disabilities. This article, reports on a study thatexamined the nature of that employment program and assessedits impact upon the people participating in it.

To help frame the context for the study, the authors first presenta historical review of the UAE policy initiation together withdetails about recent governmental initiatives toward the rightsof people with disabilities. Next, they describe the methodologyemployed in collecting and analyzing the data, and then theauthors provide and discuss their findings, with a specific focus

on the roles of the horticultural division and the head office ofthe employer. Lastly, the authors discuss the implications of theirfindings and offer comments on activities that need to be under-taken to expand the nation’s program of supported employment.

Background

The UAE is a young nation that has emerged as a moderneconomy driven by oil, gas, and recently tourism (Oil and GasInvestor, 2006). It has been striving to modernize the education,labor, and social welfare sectors with a recent awareness of therights of the people with disabilities, especially following theintroduction of the 2006 Federal Law no. 29 on the Rights ofPeople with Special Needs (MSA, 2006), and later the UAE’sratification of the Convention on the Rights of People withDisabilities (Gaad, 2011). Although there has been a generalgrowing awareness of disabilities, stigmatization of disability isstill common among the communities of most nationalities inthe UAE (Gaad, 2006). However, the UAE is a caring societyderiving its beliefs from Islamic teachings where helping theneedy is an honorable and righteous act. The majority in UAEsociety considers people with disabilities as needy and thereforeregards the caring for them as a charitable act. Yet, this under-standing is a misconception, as the care for people with disabili-ties is declared to be a human right in Quran where it is definedas duties toward others (Mawdudi, 1980). Given this perspective,this belief is mirrored in the UAE Constitution and Federal Lawno. 29/2006, which supports the right of the people with dis-abilities to have equal access to education and employment.

Received September 12, 2011; accepted March 13, 2012Correspondence: Eman Gaad, Dean and Senior Lecturer in Special Educa-tion, Faculty of Education, The British University in Dubai, 1st and 2ndFloor, Block 11, Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), PO Box345015, Dubai 345015, United Arab Emirates. Tel: +971 4 3671949;Fax: +971 4 366 4698; E-mail: [email protected]

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Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual DisabilitiesVolume 9 Number 2 pp 103–111 June 2012

© 2012 International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The UAE constitution was drafted in 1971 as an interim consti-tution and was later amended to become permanent in 1996(Alahbabi, 2009; UAE Cabinet, 2010). Article 14 in the constitu-tion emphasizes equality and social justice for all citizens, whileArticle 16 identifies the society’s responsibility of protecting,assisting, and enabling “people who cannot look after themselves”and guarantees welfare and social security legislations to regulatematters accordingly (UAE Cabinet, 2010). But there was noexplicit law to regulate the rights of people with special needsuntil 2006, when the Federal Law 29/2006 was issued, and, later, itwas amended by Federal Law 14/2009 (Gaad, 2011).

Chapter three of the Federal Law 29/2006 concerns work andemployment of people with disabilities, with four articles: 16, 17,18, and 19 (MSA, 2006). Article 16 involves the right to holdpublic office and the right to be included in the recruitment forsuch a position based on competency. Article 17 involves theexecution of rehabilitation programs, while Article 18 is aboutregulating job specifics, such as working hours, vacations, jobtermination entitlements, and benefits. It also refers to the possi-bility of using quota system as a policy instrument. Finally, Article19 involves the formation of a specialized committee that hasbeen charged with the responsibility of initiating the policiesneeded to realize the employment of people with disabilities andguarantee the continuity of employment for the longest possibleperiod. Moreover, the committee is to encourage and support theestablishment of projects for those who are qualified, provideassistance with entering the job market, encourage the privatesector to train, qualify, and employ people with disabilities, for-mulate necessary procedures to protect them from exploitation atwork, and finally prepare studies about the development of thelabor market.

Clearly, the government of the UAE has established the foun-dation for securing the employment rights for people with dis-abilities, and it has also recognized a need to involve people withdisabilities in the policy-making process. Yet policies and proce-dures to support the implementation of this law still need tobe enacted with proper legislation and instruments in order tobecome binding on public and private employers. This situationhas also been confirmed by the Director General of the Commu-nity Development Authority (CDA) when he pointed out theexistence of a gap between the government’s aspirations and thejob market reality in terms of nature and number of jobs open foradults with disabilities (Ghaibour, 2010).

To stimulate this development, an agreement was reachedbetween the CDA and the “Desert Group,”1 a major employer inDubai, and was aimed at supporting the latter in advancing theiremployment program for people with disabilities by providingthe Desert Group with a research-based evaluation of theprogram, as well as devising recommendations for further devel-opment and supporting future recruitment of people with dis-abilities. It was the belief that this evaluation would provide

insight into how this program was doing and that the “lessonslearned” could be translated into other such agreements.

In the United States and the UK, significant legislation withrespect to the rights of people with disabilities has been enacted,such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the UnitedStates in 1990 and the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK in1995 and 2005 (which has recently been replaced by the EqualityAct of 2010). This legislation was introduced to enhance accessto employment for people with disabilities by imposing anobligation on employers to make reasonable adjustments totheir employment processes and their work environments. Suchlegislation has been supplemented with an abundance of codesof practice and various policy measures to ease the transition ofpeople with disabilities to work, and is implemented throughgovernmental bodies that support and monitor the implementa-tion process (Ferrie et al., 2008; Jones, 2008; Jones, Latreille, &Sloane, 2006; Rochdale, Chadwick, Howie-Finn, & Roelofs,1996). For example, in the United States, the ADA prohibits dis-crimination against people with disabilities with respect to accessto employment. To enforce the Act, the Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission (EEOC) was established to monitorcompliance of employers with respect to recruitment, pay, train-ing, promotion, and various employment terms and conditions.The EEOC investigates employee complaints and has the author-ity to file civil or criminal suits against employers that violate thefederal disability laws. However, research in the United States(Jones, 2008; Kruse & Schur, 2003) confirms that there is alwaysthe risk of reducing the demand for workers with disabilities as aresult of raising the costs of the employment process as the leg-islation requires accommodations and adaptations to work envi-ronment, as well as the costly job terms and benefits. Therefore,some believe that such legislative efforts should attempt to estab-lish a balance between the costs of employing a person with adisability and the incentives provided by the government forcompanies to comply with that legislation.

In the UAE, the Ministry of Social Affairs has been given theresponsibility, among other national organizations, to translatethe law into initiatives, plans, and programs of action in buildinga partnership among the government, civil society, and privatesectors in order to promote the values of social responsibility. Therole of policy implementation support for organizations in Dubaihas been recently provided by the CDA through a new programcalled “Elkayt,” which was initiated by the Government of Dubaiin July 2010. This program’s goal is to coordinate with institu-tions, both public and private, to provide suitable employ-ment opportunities for people with disabilities (Bladd, 2010;Ghaibour, 2010). Elkayt provides all related services such as train-ing of both employees and employers, guidelines for necessaryadjustments to the work environment, and any provisionsto guarantee long-term employment. It has so far succeeded inemploying 32 people with various physical and intellectual dis-abilities (ID). A similar governmental initiative is the “NationalProject for Inclusion of People with Special Needs” inauguratedin 2008 by the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Careand Special Needs in Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi Government, 2008).Its main objective is to promote social partnerships at insti-tutional and individual levels for the benefit of people with dis-abilities and to ensure their rights to education, health, training,and employment. In their first year, they managed to assist 20

1The Desert Group, a corporate organization established in 1988 and locatedin Dubai, UAE, provides a diverse range of services that includes maintenanceof pools and waterscapes, landscaping, plantscapes, golf course construction,garden center, nurseries, turf machinery and products, and trade and con-struction. The Desert Group is a major provider of high quality landscapeleisure and lifestyle solutions in the Middle East and has workforce of some3,400 employees (Desert Group, n.d.).

Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities Volume 9 Number 2 June 2012

N. Alborno and E. Gaad • Employment in Dubai

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people (13 men and 7 women) with various disabilities to findemployment. Another initiative by the Government of Dubai is“Takamul,” supervised by the Dubai Education Council, whichassists in the transition of people with disability from home orschool to employment (Stensgaard, 2006).

However, these initiatives are still at early stages and arenot yet backed by government monitoring bodies that havethe authority to file civil suits against violations of the FederalLaw. This is in comparison with the challenges presented by thefact that Dubai alone has an estimated 5,452 registered peoplewith disabilities (Ghaibour, 2010). Other figures provided by theMinistry of Social Affairs from the 2008 census illustrate that thenumber of students in rehabilitation centers across Dubai andthe Northern Emirates, who are possibly ready for employment,is estimated to be 1,243 (a bit more than 50% are females) (MSA,2008). Such figures give importance to the pioneering programcarried out by the Desert Group and highlight the necessity forsupporting and promoting programs of this kind.

To gain a better understanding of the process and impact ofone of these initiatives (i.e., the CDA’s initiative with the DesertGroup), a study was undertaken that investigated the implemen-tation of the new employment opportunities law. The context ofthis study was to examine how a privately owned, national land-scaping organization in Dubai, the Desert Group, did performin implementing the agreement with CDA. Consideration wasgiven to determining both the benefits and liabilities of beingan equal opportunities employer. The study examined (a) theproductivity of employees, (b) their psychological, behavioral,and professional development, and (c) the impact of the employ-ment program on the work environment and the Emirates’society in general. The value of the study stems from the lack ofany specific research relevant to the implementation of policiesconcerning the rights of people with disabilities in the UAE(Alahbabi, 2009). As such, the study aspires to contribute to thelimited body of knowledge available about the employment ofpeople with disabilities in the UAE.

The effectiveness of the employment initiative was assessed byexamining the various aspects of the program which were iden-tified based on empirical guides for the employment of peoplewith disabilities in the UK and the United States (Hemmings &Morris, 2004; Rochdale et al., 1996; U.S. Department of Justice,2005). Assessed aspects included recruitment, initial training,health and safety regulations, work space adjustments, manage-ment and supervision, appraisals and incentives as well as furtherjob progress, and the social impact of the program.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology followed in this study is qualitative,based on social constructivist paradigm (Creswell, 2009; Mertens,1998). Creswell (2009, p. 213) explains that “in qualitativeinquiry, the intent is not to generalize to a population, but todevelop an in-depth exploration of a central phenomenon,”which matches the purpose of this project in assessing the variousaspects of the employment program in the landscaping organi-zation. A case study approach was chosen since it allows thecollection of detailed information about individuals in their par-ticular context, as described by Cohen, Manion, and Morrison

(2000, p. 185): “the case study researcher typically observes thecharacteristics of an individual unit—a child, a clique, a schoolor a community. The purpose of such observation is to probedeeply and to analyse intensively the multifarious phenomenathat constitute the life cycle of the unit.”

In line with this methodology and to allow for a completeperspective of the employment program, multiple qualitativedata collection methods (i.e., participant observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis) were used in orderto achieve data triangulation.

Site Selection

Purposeful sampling was used in selecting the Desert Groupfor this study as it is one of the few private organizations in Dubaithat has an established program for employment of young adultswith disabilities as a result of its corporate social responsibilityinitiative. The program started in 2006 and has to date succeededin providing sustainable employment for 36 individuals with IDand physical disabilities. Furthermore, the company expressed itsinterest in developing this program which prompted CDA toinitiate this study in order to obtain data as a stepping stone forfuture similar provision of supported employment services.

Participants

The selection of participants started with an interview by theauthors with the head of the special needs department, being themain initiator of the employment program of people with dis-abilities in the Desert Group. Consequently, the following partici-pants were identified according to their role in the program. Inthe head office, two employees with mild hearing impairmentwere selected, one is a photographer and the other is an admin-istration officer. Both are Emirati nationals in their 20s. Selectionwas based on their communication skills and early enrollmentin the program. In the nursery, the following participants wereselected: (a) the trainer and the counselor who supervise the teamof gardeners, as they are the main stakeholders in organizing theprogram; (b) the production manager in the nursery as a workingcolleague to the gardeners; (c) the gardeners, who are mainlyEmirati nationals (27 males aged between 19 and 37 years oldwith ID [including nine with Down syndrome]; their averagemental age, according to the recruitment reports, ranged between4 and 15; some were more mentally challenged than others; andmost had attended rehabilitation centers in the UAE where theyhave picked up some basic life skills); and (d) the parent (mother)of one of the gardeners, who was willing to participate in theresearch after being contacted by the trainer.

Data Collection

The study was carried out over 2 weeks with access providedto the respondents (in the nursery and head office) accordingto a schedule of appointments devised by the head of thecompany’s special needs department. Interview sessions weredigitally recorded with permissions from participants and were



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supplemented with notes. Once these were transcribed, they weresent to be checked by participants to increase reliability (this wasnot possible in the case of the parent). Informal discussions wereconducted with the employees with ID through two full days ofobservations at the nursery. The observations were carried out asparticipant observations, where the researcher took part in all thehorticultural activities of the day, such as soil potting, stacking,organizing, plant shifting, cleaning, loading, and sales. The goal ofparticipation, as described by Glesne (2006), is to understand andlearn from participants as well as to question the researcher’s ownassumptions. In this study, the extensive observations, togetherwith the side discussions, aided in recording the voice of theemployees with ID mainly with respect to their perceptions of jobsatisfaction and the value of their work. The resulting observationaccounts were checked by their supervisors to ensure accuracy.

Interviews were useful not only to gain a description of theprogram but also to record the participants’ attitudes, daily expe-riences, and difficulties. To increase the reliability of the measures,the interview guides were designed after consulting with policyimplementation guides from both the United States and the UK(e.g., Hemmings & Morris, 2004; Rochdale et al., 1996; U.S.Department of Justice, 2005). The disability interview handbookpublished by the Ministry of Social Affairs in Dubai (Abdat, 2010)was also consulted. The guides were later updated following theunderstanding gained during the initial observations of the dailytasks of the gardeners. The choice of semi-structured interviewswas made to allow for flexibility of updating the questions duringthe interview so as to reflect on the answers given and ask morein-depth questions rather than being restricted by a rigid modelof questions.

Interviews with the head of the company’s special needsdepartment, the program trainer, and the counselor addressed thefollowing aspects of the program: (a) objectives of the program;(b) recruitment and training; (c) adjustments in the workingenvironment and special services; (d) management, supervision,and performance monitoring; (e) appraisal and incentives; (f)professional progress; and (g) the impact of program on organi-zation and society. As for the employees with disabilities and theparent, these interviews revolved around: (a) recruitment andtraining; (b) job satisfaction; and (c) future aspiration.

Document analysis was also performed using primary docu-ments provided by the case organization, which included internalstatistics, monthly and daily reports depicting the progress of theemployees with disabilities in the nursery, as well as a completeprofile of social and sporting participations of the employees withdisabilities. The evaluation of the program in terms of produc-tivity as well as behavioral and professional development utilizedthe internal statistics and the daily/monthly reports provided bythe Desert Group.

Government documents were also consulted, such as UAEFederal Law #29/2006 (MSA, 2006) and the UAE constitution(UAE Cabinet, 2010) with respect to articles concerned withrehabilitation and employment of people with disabilities. Otherinternational documents such as United States, UK, and Euro-pean countries’ disability rights legislation (Ferrie et al., 2008;Greve, 2009; U.S. Department of Justice, 2005) were vital toestablishing the history behind the global movement of social andprofessional inclusion of people with disabilities, and how it isreflected in UAE employment policies and practices. Also, related

articles in local newspapers were considered as an aid in reflectingthe practices of the Desert Group within the UAE context.Another source of information was the Desert Group Web sitewhich was used to clarify the image that the organization portraysto the general public.

Ethics approval was obtained for the study and was guided bythe British University in Dubai’s ethical code of conduct. Follow-ing the first interview with the head of the program, a scheduleof appointments was devised by the Desert Group accordingto staff convenience. Prior to interviews and observations, thepurpose and the conduct of the research were clarified to theparticipants emphasizing their right to refrain from answeringany questions and even to withdraw at any stage, without anynegative consequences.

FINDINGS

The Desert Group is constituted of a number of companiesthat provide landscape-related and -oriented activities. In 2006,it took the initiative to comply with the federal law by graduallyemploying 41 workers with varying physical and ID, based onthe organization’s belief and commitment to corporate socialresponsibility.

Employment Program for People with Disabilities

The employment program started in 2006 by recruitingnine young adults enrolled at various rehabilitation centers inDubai and Sharjah. Currently, the program employs 36 adultswith physical disabilities and ID, either in administrative jobs inthe head office or as gardeners in the nursery (see Tables 1 and 2).

The nursery currently employs 27 individuals with various IDas gardeners, comprising 40% of the total employees in thenursery. The managing team consists of a team leader, a counse-lor, and three supervisors. As for the team leader, his main taskinvolves devising the functional and vocational training programsand monitoring the productivity, as well as organizing the recre-ational and sports activities. As the employment program pro-gressed and the number of employees with ID increased, theorganization realized the need to provide support with respectto psychological and behavioral issues, as well as the need tomeasure the success of the program. As a result, a specialized

TABLE 1Distribution of employees with disabilities in Desert Group

Nature of disability No Position Placement

Mentally challenged 18 Gardener NurseryDown syndrome 9 Gardener NurseryMentally challenged (mild) 3 Admin Head officeHearing impairment 5 Admin Head officePhysically challenged

(cerebral palsy)1 Admin Head office



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counselor was employed who has an extensive background inrehabilitation of people with disabilities in Egypt and the UAE.His main responsibilities revolve around planning and monitor-ing as well as documenting the development of the behavioral,psychological, and professional skills of the employees with dis-abilities. He regularly provides individualized and group sessionsfor the employees to address any behavioral or psychologicalissues. The remaining three supervisors constantly monitor andrecord the daily productivity as well as provide the transportationservices in the dedicated buses supplied for the group.

The company’s head office currently employs nine peoplewith disabilities (two females and seven males) in various admin-istrative jobs, such as typing, data entry, mail distribution, as wellas photography and public relations. Employment terms aresimilar to those of all other employees except for provisions withrespect to extra time off required for medical reasons. Employeesenjoy the same benefits such as annual holidays, health insurance,and a pension plan, as well as transportation provisions, ifrequired.

Recruitment

The recruitment (that is, securing employee candidates with adisability) was based on the recommendations of local rehabili-tation centers, and assignments were dependent on type of dis-ability and capabilities. Accordingly, employees with ID wereassigned to the horticultural division, as gardeners in the nursery,while the ones with hearing impairments and physical disabilitieswere assigned to the head office in administrative jobs. This trendcontinued in later recruitments with some exceptions where indi-viduals who were unemployed and at home applied directly tothe organization and were offered jobs in both divisions. Therecruitment process did not seem to include any formal testingfor abilities, and according to the program supervisors in thenursery, it depended mainly on the reports presented by therehabilitation centers and their guardians, as well as interviewswith both the guardian and the employee. The supervisors of theprogram in the nursery complained that such reports provided bycenters and parents were usually inconclusive and were missinga lot of vital information with respect to behavioral and psy-chological issues, as well as talents and possible skills, which

complicated their task in devising training programs. Followingrecruitment, a probation period of 3 months was assigned, afterwhich the employee were given a contract depending on theappraisal conducted at the end of that period.

Training

During the probation period, employees are given on-the-jobtraining. In the head office, induction and initial trainingare carried out by colleagues of the designated departmentusing modeling techniques. The employees with disabilities areassigned to learn the required skills by observing a colleaguecarrying out the job, and gradually are assigned the tasks withcomplete supervision until the required skills are grasped andcomplete independence in carrying out the job is achieved.This process was confirmed by employees during the interview,where they expressed their satisfaction with the support of theirpeers. For some jobs, like public relations and photography, anassistant might always be needed to facilitate communicationwith the public during out-of-office assignments. The companyalso provided photography training which was conductedby a professional photographer. Sign language workshops werealso conducted for the employees in the administration depart-ment to facilitate communication with employees with hearingimpairments—which had a positive effect on the general moral inthe organization, as reported by the employees with disabilities.

In the head office, public relations, photography, data entryjobs, and office mail distribution are all carried out by the nineemployees with varying disabilities (e.g., hearing impairment,physical disability, and mild mental disability). The head of thecompany’s human resources department expressed his satisfac-tion with their commitment and hard work and explained thatthey were doing their jobs at the expected level and had excellentattendance records. Additionally, during the interviews, employ-ees expressed positive job satisfaction (e.g.,“the office atmosphereis friendly and we work as a team; our salaries are good; we enjoyour job”). We attributed these positive remarks to the suppor-tive working environment, efficiency of the training programs,helpful staff and management, as well as opportunities for devel-opment of new skills.

In the nursery, the trainer and the counselor explained thatthe training program is presented in stages. It commences withindividual remedial sessions aiming at removing the psychologi-cal barrier toward the work environment and to help developacceptable social and professional behavior. The next step is tointroduce the daily tasks, which are broken down into simplifiedset of steps that can be taught gradually using individual instruc-tions and modeling techniques. Reinforcement of acquired skillsis continuously exercised through competitions and daily recog-nition of employees with high performance, competence, com-mitment, and appropriate conduct. The employees are assignedto four groups: soil potting, pot stacking, plant shifting andweeding, and loading and unloading. The assignment of tasks isdone according to physical and mental abilities, with the possi-bility of rotating among the groups to master various skills andavoid boredom.

According to the head of the employer’s special needs depart-ment, the program has had a high retention rate of 88%, where

TABLE 2Annual hiring of employees with disabilities in Desert Group

Annual hiring

Year No Cumulative

2006 11 112007 9 202008 18 382008 -5 332009 2 352010 1 36



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only five employees resigned out of 41 employed since theprogram began in 2006, which in effect reduced the cost of staffturnover. When resignations occurred, they were due to lack ofsupport from the parents (n = 3), the parents’ desire for their sonto pursue a different career (n = 1), and the lack of needed psy-chological support for the employee in the program during itsearly stages (n = 1).

Environment Adjustment

The working environment both in the nursery and the headoffice is inspected by civil defense officers and experts from the

CDA. Special attention is given to adjusting the environmentin the nursery to encourage higher productivity and positivebehavior. For example, Table 3 illustrates the provisions that wereintroduced to achieve the least restrictive work environment.

Management, Supervision, and Performance Monitoring

The productivity of each employee in the nursery wasrecorded in daily reports by the supervisors and later inte-grated into monthly reports. Production and behavior tallysheets were devised to record the gardeners’ daily activities.Production tally sheets recorded, for example, the number ofpots filled or the number of plants moved successfully. Also,attendance and independence during performing the tasks wererecorded. As for behavioral tally sheets, both positive behaviors(such as greeting peers, cooperation, following orders, andspeech) as well as negative behaviors (such as rude words, vio-lence, disobedience, or stubbornness) were recorded. Figure 1, asan example, depicts information tallied through the first quarterfor one employee with respect to professional and behavioralperformance.

The highest performers were recognized through an appraisalprogram known as “The Employee of the Month.” The dailyrecords are analyzed by the trainer and counselor to monitor theprofessional and behavioral development of each employee, andused to inform individual training plans. Based on these reports,parents or guardians are continually informed of the progress andare consulted in the case of any problems.

We observed during the two days visit to the nursery that theemployees were polite and courteous and self-disciplined. Jobinstructions were accepted and adhered to with no problems andthere was a fair amount of participation and cooperation amongthe group which resulted in a competitive, high-spirited, yet sup-portive working environment. We surmise that this is probablythe result of the daily and monthly reports produced which are

TABLE 3Provisions introduced to achieve the least restrictiveenvironment

1 Shading the area of soil potting and stacking, as theemployees are seated there for a long time withoutmuch movement

2 The number of hours are shorter in the hotter months,and a fully paid two months holiday is given in thesummer

3 Special chairs have been allocated for the soil potting teamto ease the physical stress of the job

4 Techniques and modified equipment were devised to makethe job more efficient and less tiresome

5 Absence is allowed for rehabilitation and treatment6 First aid training workshops are offered to ensure safety

in the working environment7 Transportation services are provided for all employees in

the nursery using dedicated company busses

Professional

Jan-10 17.5

Mar-10 30

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Axi

s T

itle

First Quarter Evaluation of Employee A

ResponsibilityDependencyPhysicalVocalSocialBehavior

30303042.542.542.5

42.5303042.542.555

FIGURE 1

Example of a quarterly evaluation of an employee.



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fairly extensive allowing early detection of problems and effectiveproblem solving including all stakeholders.

Appraisal and Incentives

The trainers told us that many behavioral problems, suchas stubbornness, aggressiveness, and sometimes total withdrawaldid arise specially during the first year of employment. Suchbehavior was dealt with on an individual basis using positive andnegative incentives depending on the severity of the case and withthe support of the family. Strategies used by trainers included thefollowing: (a) daily monitoring of behavioral forms which act asan incentive for good behavior; (b) personal sessions to reinforcepositive behavior; (c) daily and monthly incentive programssuch as “the employee of the month”; (d) recreational and sportsprogram, including a supervised morning exercise session as wellas a membership in Dubai club for special sports; (e) instillingIslamic rituals (prayer/personal hygiene); and (f) an effectivecommunication system with parents.

The parent of one of the employees confirmed that thecontinuous communication with the trainers and especially thequestionnaires that they needed to fill about the behavior of theirson at home helped to highlight many problems. When needed,the trainers gave the parents advice about how to tackle certainconcerns, such as stubbornness and aggressiveness. The parentexplained that going to work and participating in the after-workrecreational and sports activities organized by the company havebecome the best incentive for good behavior for her son.

Professional Progress

Further career opportunities are also provided through spe-cialized development programs, for example “The OutstandingSalesman Program,” where gardeners with speech capabilitieswere assigned to a dedicated training program to develop com-munication skills as well as horticultural information about manyflowering plants and fruit trees. The program in its initial stagessuccessfully prepared nine gardeners to form an active group ofsalesmen, where they are in full contact with customers in thenursery. Other opportunities for development have been offered,such as IT skills, office work such as typing, photocopying, print-ing, data entry, and mail delivery in the nursery. All employees aregiven the chance to participate depending on individual interestand capabilities. One of the employees managed to move from thegardening job to the head office to become a photographer andpublic relations officer. Future working groups have also beenproposed to the management to include flower arrangement,planting and maintenance of seeds and shrubs.

Social Impact of the Program

We noted that the program was not welcome during the firstyear by other employees, as they did not believe in the capabilitiesand commitment of people with disabilities. They also feared thatthey would end up doing their work and looking after them.However, following the first year, attitudes changed and became

quite positive as mirrored in the words of the production researchmanager in the nursery, where he explained that watching thepeople with disabilities working so hard and observing their com-mitment has been very inspiring to all the staff. Furthermore,it has increased the sense of pride and loyalty as a result of appre-ciating that the company is fulfilling its duty toward God andsociety.

The impact on local society has also been positive espe-cially following their latest endeavor of the “Let’s Plant the UAETogether” national campaign. The 8-month campaign featuredvisits to many ministries, governmental bodies, universities, andschools throughout the UAE where the gardeners helped someof the UAE rulers, ministers, government officials, and studentsin planting trees during each visit. They have so far successfullyplanted 15,000 trees in total. Their latest project is joining handswith the Dubai Police Department in its environmental campaignby planting trees in Dubai’s residential areas and in mosques.One of the main objectives of the campaign is to raise theawareness of society regarding the competence of people withdisabilities and their capability to work, hence being equallyproductive, participating, and contributing citizens. The DesertGroup also encourages the special needs department to parti-cipate in all national festivities and events such as the NationalDay, International Environment Day, schools’ open days, and theDubai Shopping Festival, which result in building the confidenceof the employees and raising awareness in the greater community.

DISCUSSION

This evaluative study examining the efficacy of an employ-ment program provided for young adults with disabilities at theDesert Group appears to have been successful as a showcasefor the implementation of the first Federal Law in the UAE thatguarantees the right for employment and support of people withdisabilities. From what we observed, we can draw the followingconclusions.

Initially, in the Desert Group, the decision to employ peoplewith cognitive disabilities was based on the common knowledgethat people with ID can perform well in the horticultural fieldonce properly trained. The company later diversified the programby employing people with sensory and physical disabilities in thehead office in jobs such as data entry, general administration,public relations, and photography. As the program evolved, thecompany adopted a scientific approach by employing a qualifiedcounselor who introduced research-based techniques in develop-ing, monitoring, and recording the psychological, behavioral,and professional development of the employees in the nurserywith ID. This approach resulted in a highly productive team of 28gardeners (40% of the employees in the nursery), who are able toperform their tasks proficiently with promising prospects todevelop various administrative and IT skills according to theirpersonal abilities. The changes in the functional abilities of theemployees as well as the psychological, behavioral, and pro-fessional improvements facilitated their social and professionalintegration in the community. In the head office, the team ofemployees with disabilities was successful in being fully inte-grated into their respective jobs, namely: data entry, public rela-tions, photography, and office mail distribution. Among their



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peers and the company’s management, they are recognized asloyal, efficient, and reliable staff.

With respect to their psychological, behavioral, and pro-fessional development, the employer recognized the necessityof overcoming certain barriers between their employees withdisabilities and the work environment to improve productivity,independence, and self-determination, and hence creating abetter working environment. Such rationale has been confirmedby Qaryouti, Abu-Hilal, and Sartawi (2002) who conducted astudy on the attitudes of people with disabilities in UAE andJordan toward work environments. He found that factors such aslack of job preparation, low self-confidence, and lack of respectand appropriate guidance—as well as inadequate safety arrange-ments and exploitation in terms of low salary—all contribute toan unhealthy work environment.

Regarding the psychological aspect, our finding that theemployees felt they were valued and respected resulted in higherself-esteem and self-confidence. An additional factor was thatthey were also trusted through an open door policy with man-agement which allowed them to voice their opinions and needs(e.g., their request for a morning meal at the nursery, changingthe uniform and transportation provisions, as well as highersalaries). Incentives such as adequate remuneration, professionaldevelopment, and recreational and social programs resulted inempowerment and positive attitude, and hence created a friendlyworking environment. High job satisfaction was clear duringparticipatory observations, where gardeners stated many reasonsfor their desire to come to work (e.g., earning a good salary likeother family members, having friends as well as support fromthe supervisors, learning new skills like using the computer, aswell as participating in social trips and sports activities). This wasconfirmed by the parent of one of the employees who was appre-ciative of the opportunity for her son to be gaining a skill andearning an income. She explained that her son’s attitudes andsocial skills have improved as a result of the supporting environ-ment at the Desert Group and his continuous participation in thecompany’s recreational activities.

As for the professional aspects, our finding of high attendancerates was indicative of a strong interest in their employment.This was reinforced by the gardeners who told us that coming towork was better than being at home, especially now that they areearning their own money. There was also an obvious sense ofpride about their jobs. We noticed this as they were trying to teachus how to carry out the tasks on hand (during the days we wereon-site). Their self-efficacy and work ethics were evident in theiraccuracy, commitment, and loyalty.

The Impact of the Employment Program on the WorkEnvironment and the Society in General

UAE is a society that still considers providing employmentopportunities for people with disabilities an act of charity ratherthan a right governed by international and federal law. However,the company’s vision for this program is based on its belief incorporate social responsibility and has emerged in response to thefederal law governing the rights of people with disabilities. Thisprogram has succeeded in removing the stigma internally as aresult to the commitment of the management team and their

constant support to the program. Initial resistance was met withawareness talks about the rights of people with disabilities amongline managers and colleagues as well as commendation to employ-ees who cooperated and assisted in facilitating on-the-job trainingfor employees with disabilities. Other factors such as organizingsocial and recreational activities as well as facilitating communi-cation through sign language workshops has also helped in creat-ing a supportive and friendly working environment. As for thegreater society, a number of the Desert Group programs are inno-vative, such as the “Let’s Plant the UAE Together” campaign andthe environmental campaign, and these are slowly gaining recog-nition in the UAE. The company is working in the right directionas it is trying to secure the support of Emirati prominent figures inorder to gain media coverage which will aid the awareness cam-paign about the productivity of people with disabilities and theirright to equal access to employment.

The Desert Group is one of the few private companies inDubai to implement a corporate social responsibility programthat has become an integral part of its strategic plan and isreflected in the company’s literature. During the study, it becameclear that the program evolved as a result of a leadership visionand humanitarian approach rather than an obligation to adhereto a government policy, since the current legislation still does notprovide mechanisms to enforce the law. Given these findings, wewould recommend that the UAE establish a monitoring bodywhich will ensure that employers comply with the law, and whichwill also have the authority to file civil and criminal suits againstviolating employers upon receipt of complaints from employeeswith disabilities. It would be useful for the government to estab-lish policy instruments that provide incentives to encouragecompanies similar to the Desert Group to adopt corporate socialresponsibility strategies and commit resources to become equalopportunity employers.

Although one major employer in the UAE has made impor-tant foundational steps toward committing to equal opportuni-ties employment by instilling the vision of employment for alland as a result created a corporate culture of acceptance andrespect for the diversity of abilities, efforts are still required toget other companies to become effective equal opportunitiesemployer with respect to recruitment techniques, environmentadjustment, and professional development. The required effortmay seem optional for the time being, but with the UAE movingtoward achieving the full rights of people with disabilities, as aresult of the global movement, the media interest, and moreimportantly the latest development with respect to UAE rati-fication of the UN Convention on the Rights of People withDisabilities, soon it will be a government requirement rather thana choice.

In conclusion, our study showed that one employer hadsucceeded in offering sustainable employment for 36 individualswith various physical and mental disabilities, which in effect hasprovided each one of them with a source of livelihood, a chancefor building social contacts, and more importantly self-esteem,which is a main construct in empowering people with disabilitiesto integrate in their communities. Therefore, the study concludedthat an employment program that is offered to adults with dis-abilities can help include them in society by implementing thefederal law that protects the employment rights of people withdisabilities.



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