Part of our mission at John’s Crazy Socks is to show what people with differing abilities can do. We start by making John, an entrepreneur with Down syndrome, the face of our business. After all, it was John’s idea to start this business. And we make a commitment in our hiring: we have been able to create 34 jobs, 22 of which are held by people with differing abilities.

Inclusion makes us a better business. It helps us recruit employees and, in a time, when many employers cannot find enough good workers, our commitment to inclusion measures we always have enough good applicants for our job openings.

Inclusion leads to better morale which leads to greater productivity and greater retention. Inclusive hiring is good business. John and Mark recorded a TEDx Talk on this theme: Hiring People with Differing Abilities is Not Altruism, It is Good Business.

A British human resources company, Ben, has created “A Comprehensive Guide to Disability Inclusion in the Workplace.” We are sharing this link because this Guide can prove helpful to all businesses. Every business wants to hire the best possible people. If we exclude a class of people arbitrarily, we cannot hire the best possible people. By creating an inclusive and diverse workplace, we make our businesses stronger and more resilient, and we can pursue hiring the best possible people for our businesses.