The combination of various trends in the society like aging, disability prevalence, increased expectations among workers and consumers with and without impairments resulted in an elevated need to have more inclusive design to accommodate across the full spectrum of human abilities. Increased dependence of automation had contributed to this as well.

The concept of universal design has rapidly evolved around the concept that tasks and other life activities should be easy and comfortable for all people with diverse features. This concept is also well applied in designing workplaces as workplaces become more and more diverse. Inclusive design or universal design (UD) is one of the few user-centred design paradigms that advocate consideration for the full spectrum of human abilities, including individuals with and without disabilities.

As older adults and individuals with disabilities have become more independent and actively participating in employment, educational and recreational opportunities expectations for safe, accessible and equitable products and environments have increased. Enforcement of federal accessibility legislations in many countries has also been instrumental in advancing the rights of vulnerable user populations. Furthermore, complex technologies (e.g., automation, virtual interactions) have now become omnipresent in everyday lives which includes employment, education, healthcare, recreation to name a few.

Human factors and Ergonomics (HFE or E/HF) practitioners play a significant role in ensuring the components of UD are included in the design solution to address the human abilities. HFE practitioners are responsible to quantitatively evaluate artifacts and solutions to engineering design problems for human use, including for people with diverse impairments. Some examples like domains of transportation (e.g., older drivers, driverless and autonomous vehicles), healthcare (e.g., home-based care, medical device design, and patient safety devices) and occupational settings (e.g., aging workforce issues, obesity and functional work capacity) (D’Souza 2017)

The concept of universal design emerged from barrier free design, which took into account the needs of people with disabilities (Welch 1995). The idea of design for all existed for quite some time however the idea received attention only after the Center for universal design at the State university of North Carolina issued the principles of Universal Design. It was even more evident with the passing of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. Although the rights of people with disabilities are acknowledged the consideration must involve other groups whose needs differ from those with disabilities (Kose 2006). It is still evolving in different part of the world. The focus is towards addressing the diverse needs of a wide variety of individuals in designing infrastructure, buildings, and consumer products.

Many European Union Member States have inclusive design legislation, which is relevant both nationally and internationally. Key policies include human rights and equality, rights of disabled persons, social inclusion, and sustainable development. The EU Accessibility Act (EU Directive 2019/882) applies to products and services from 2025 and provides an umbrella to encourage participation of differently abled people as it secures accessibility of public sectors and is relevant for the design of working environment. In countries like Germany, barrier-free building and public zone design should refer to national standardisation (e.g. DIN series 18040:2014), however, national legislation and regulation apply to the design of working places (ASR V3a.2:2022; see also DGUV Information 215-111/112). In the USA more advancement happened with Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (1991), and Americans with Disabilities Act/Architectural Barriers Act Guidelines (2004). On the other hand, the legislations in Canada such as Employment Equity Act (section 2), Canadian Labour Code (Part II, Occupational Health and Safety, sections 124 and 125), and the Canadian Human Rights Act (Part I, section 3(1)) have addresses employer responsibilities, health and safety at work, and worker discrimination, respectively. In a most recent development on December 13, 2021, the Accessible Canada Regulations, SOR/2021-241 (the “Regulations”) came into force. Under these Regulations federally regulated employers became obligated under the Accessible Canada Act, to prepare and publish accessibility plans, descriptions of feedback processes, and progress reports. The Regulations also establish monetary penalties to promote compliance with the Act (ESD Canada 2021 for Guidance on the Accessible Canada Regulations).

In Japan the Law for Building Accessibility (the Heartful Building Law) has made terms like "barrier-free design/ accessibility" and "universal design" more common (JEED 2022). Manufacturers and advertising agencies have built a new marketing strategy that even helped businesses recover from their long recession in the country. As a result, new amendments are being made to the Heartful Building Law due to the popular demand (Saito 2006). On top of that the Occupational Safety and Health Act laid the ground rules in hiring older workers for the following criteria: work management, work environment, workers' health, overall management, and safety education (Jeong & Shin 2014).