Voices at Work is a co-produced research project led by GCIL (Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living), funded by Glasgow Futures and delivered between October 2025 and May 2026. The project explored the experiences of disabled people in the workplace, with a focus on understanding what supports or undermines sustainable employment.

The project engaged 47 participants through workshops, interviews and wider engagement activity, with lived experience shaping both the process and outcomes.

Findings demonstrate that barriers to sustaining employment are rarely driven by disability itself. Instead, they are shaped by workplace culture, inconsistent support and limited understanding of disability.

  
Key findings

*   63% of disabled people who participated in Voices at Work reported leaving a job due to disability-related barriers in the workplace.
*   Of those who had left a job, 73% felt that the right support could have changed the outcome.

68% of participants identified workplace culture as a barrier to sustaining employment, 51% identified in-work support, and 43% identified a lack of reasonable adjustments. Participants consistently highlighted that day-to-day attitudes, communication and relationships had a greater impact on their ability to remain in work than formal policies or procedures.

Support was often dependent on individual managers rather than embedded organisational practice, resulting in inconsistent experiences. Only 47% of participants felt their line manager understood disability or health conditions, while 35% said only somewhat and 18% said no.

In response, Voices at Work developed a set of co-produced recommendations for a toolkit of practical solutions. These include recommendations for an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training module to improve understanding and communication, and for a peer-led support service offering ongoing advice, advocacy and shared learning.

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