Human Relations virtual special issue: Workplace experiences of persons with disabilities

Introduction

Despite comprising 15% of the world’s population, ¹ people with disabilities are under-represented in the workplace with unemployment rates of 80–90% in developing countries and 50–70% in developed countries ² and arguably even less represented in the academic literature regarding social relations in and around work. ³ This set of articles is an exception. It includes seven papers that focus on the experiences of employees with different types of disabilities (e.g. Huntington’s disease, mental health conditions, mobility impairments, hearing loss), using a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. Although many of these papers consider the role of stigma, many also identify some positive aspects to living with a disability. The study of persons with disabilities’ experiences is interesting in its own right, but these articles offer useful insights for researchers interested in stigma, marginalized groups, identity, identification, disclosure, discrimination and interpersonal dynamics in the workplace.

The earliest article in our selection, by Taub, Blind and Greer (1999), is a qualitative investigation of how male college students with physical disabilities used sport and physical activity to counteract stigma. They found that demonstration of physical competence and enhanced bodily appearance allowed them to enact socially valued roles, which also helped to counteract internalized societal norms.

Using a matched sample of US College alumni, Perry, Hendricks and Broadbent (2000) compare the incidence of access and treatment discrimination for people with and without various types of disabilities (e.g. wheelchair users), as well as how these experiences affect job satisfaction. By differentiating between access and treatment discrimination, they are able to provide a more comprehensive analysis of discrimination across the employment life cycle.

Although published about 10 years ago, the article by Barclay and Markel (2007) also remains highly relevant, especially with the recent advent of cheap genetic testing (e.g. 23andme). This theoretical article explains how genetic inequity is a special case of disability discrimination (with particular reference to Huntington’s disease) and raises nuanced issues surrounding the disclosure of potential disability. They identify stigma as being related to both the fear of being discredited now and/or discovered later.

The article by Jammaers, Zanoni and Hardonk (2016) considers how persons with disabilities construct and sustain positive identities despite the negative (i.e. ableist) expectations of their workplaces. This qualitative study, set in Belgium, finds that a positive identity can be crafted by contesting the discourse of lower productivity, redefining productivity, or refusing individual responsibility for lower productivity.

Mik-Meyer (2016) conducted a qualitative study in Denmark that examines the perspectives of colleagues and managers of persons with disabilities. She explores how these individuals did not talk about their colleagues as being ‘different’ and yet they simultaneously compared them to ‘other’ demographic groups such as transvestites, redheads, elderly women and very tall people.

A recent qualitative study by Elraz (2018) focuses on the stigmatizing and empowering aspects of mental health conditions (e.g. how individuals with disabilities position themselves in relation to organizational discourses on high performance). This article also draws attention to the linkages between identification and disclosure.

Baldridge and Kulkarni (2017) study the impact of adult onset hearing loss and find that many interviewees maintained, and re-crafted, successful careers when faced with dramatically changed biological abilities. Most initially saw themselves as victims and often tried to hide their hearing loss. Over time, however, those who remained successful embraced their hearing limitations. Some even turn their ‘disability’ into a competitive advantage.

Catherine E Connelly

Associate Editor, Human Relations

DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

David Baldridge

Editorial Board member, Human Relations

Oregon State University, USA

You can access other Human Relations virtual special issues here: http://journals.sagepub.com/page/hum/collections/index

Contents

Identity, mental health and work: How employees with mental health conditions recount stigma and the pejorative discourse of mental illness

Hadar Elraz

Human Relations 71(5): 722–741.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726717716752

The shaping of sustainable careers post hearing loss: Toward greater understanding of adult onset disability, disability identity, and career transitions

David C Baldridge and Mukta Kulkarni

Human Relations 70(10): 1217–1236

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726716687388

Constructing positive identities in ableist workplaces: Disabled employees’ discursive practices engaging with the discourse of lower productivity

Eline Jammaers, Patrizia Zanoni and Stefan Hardonk

Human Relations 69(6): 1365–1386

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726715612901

Othering, ableism and disability: A discursive analysis of co-workers’ construction of colleagues with visible impairments

Nanna Mik-Meyer

Human Relations 69(6): 1341–1363

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726715618454

Discrimination and stigmatization in work organizations: A multiple level framework for research on genetic testing

Lizabeth A Barclay and Karen S Markel

Human Relations 60(6): 953–980

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0018726707080082

An exploration of access and treatment discrimination and job satisfaction among college graduates with and without physical disabilities

Elissa L Perry, Wallace Hendricks and Emir Broadbent

Human Relations 53(7): 923–955

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0018726700537002

Stigma management through participation in sport and physical activity: Experiences of male college students with physical disabilities

Diane E Taub, Elaine M Blinde and Kimberly R Greer

Human Relations 52(11): 1469–1484

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/001872679905201106