Perceived discomfort associated with working with persons with varying disabilities

Towards a better understanding of the social stigma of facial difference

Facial difference (FD) is not only an individual experience; it is inherently social, reflecting interactions between social norms and individual attitudes. Often FD is stigmatized. In this paper, we employ a widely used stigma framework, namely the social stigma framework put forth by Pryor and Reeder (2011), to unpack the stigma of FD. This framework posits that there are four forms of stigma: public stigma, self-stigma, stigma by association, and structural stigma. We first discuss the social and psychological literature on FD as it pertains to these various forms of stigma. We then describe coping approaches for FD stigma. Lastly, we delineate evidence-based methods for addressing the various forms of FD stigma, such that future efforts can more effectively tackle the stigma of facial difference.

Conceptualizing disability accommodation device acceptance by workgroups through a sociomaterial lens

Purpose

The provision of accommodation devices is said to aid organizational inclusion of employees with a disability. However, devices that are meant to enable might only partially facilitate productivity, independence, and social inclusion if these devices are not accepted by the user's workgroup. The authors outline a conceptual model of accommodation device acceptance through a sociomaterial lens to suggest conditions influencing workgroup device acceptance.

Design/methodology/approach

To build the model, the authors draw upon the sociomateriality and disability literature to frame accommodation devices as experienced in ongoing interactions, representing the goals, feelings, and interpretations of specific workgroups. The authors also unpack attributes of devices—instrumentality, aesthetics, and symbolism—and propose how each of these can pattern social conduct to influence device acceptance. The authors then draw upon the disability literature to identify attributes of workgroups that can be expected to amplify or diminish the effect of device attributes on device acceptance in that workgroup.

Findings

The conceptualization, which the authors illustrate with examples particular to visual impairment, presents implications for who and what serves as a gatekeeper to accommodation device acceptance and thereby workgroup inclusion.

Originality/value

Prior research has focused on conditions under which devices are requested by users or made available by organizations, undergirded by the assumption that devices are well-specified once provided and that they operate relatively predictably when used in various workgroups. The authors focus instead on what happens after the device is provided and highlight the complex and dynamic interaction between an accommodation device and the workgroup, which influences device and user acceptance.

Exploring Undergraduate Student Attitudes Toward Persons With Disabilities

The Disability Social Relations Generalized Disability (DSRGD) Scale was used to explore the influence of the social context on attitudes toward persons with disabilities. The DSRGD Scale was based on the Disability Social Relationship (DSR) Scale (Grand, Bernier, & Strohmer, 1982; Strohmer, Grand, & Purcell, 1984). A sample of 1,013 undergraduate students completed the DSRGD. Principal axis factoring yielded three factors representing the three contextual subscales of Dating, Marriage, and Work. The study findings identified a significant effect of context on attitudes toward persons with disabilities. A significant effect of gender across social context was identified, with females scoring higher than males on the subscales of Dating, Marriage, and Work.

Employer Knowledge of and Attitudes toward Employees who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

Introduction

The study presented here investigated employers’ knowledge about how persons who are blind or visually impaired perform typical job tasks (that is, use accommodations), how this knowledge relates to employers’ attitudes about these individuals as employees, and where employers seek help with job accommodations.

Methods

Businesses from four states were contacted by telephone to request participation; surveys were completed by 160 randomly selected businesses and 37 businesses referred by vocational rehabilitation agencies, yielding a total sample of 197. A 5-item instrument measured employers’ knowledge about how blind or visually impaired persons complete typical job tasks, and an 11-item instrument measured employers’ attitudes toward blind or visually impaired persons as employees.

Results

A majority of employers (67%) could not identify how blind or visually impaired persons perform any of the typical job tasks. Employers referred by vocational rehabilitation agencies were more likely to identify correct strategies than employers in the randomly identified sample. Knowledge levels were associated with attitudes toward blind or visually impaired persons as employees. Only 8.8% of the randomly identified sample cited an appropriate source of information about accommodations; 49.7% cited a secondary source and 41.5% were not able to identify an appropriate source.

Discussion

Most employers have limited or no knowledge about how blind or visually impaired persons perform routine job tasks. Those employers with greater levels of knowledge also had more positive attitudes toward blind or visually impaired persons as employees. It is encouraging that many employers were aware of an appropriate or secondary source of information about accommodations, and would therefore be likely to find such information if needed.

Implications for practitioners

Providing education to employers and human resources professionals about job accommodations, including where to find additional information, is necessary and would be an appropriate strategy to use when interacting with employers.

The importance of ‘strategic chat time’ for people who are blind or low vision

This article discusses the importance of ‘strategic chat time’ for the integration of blind and low vision (B/LV) employees. Strategic chat time refers to social time not related to workplace business such as lunch, breaks, and informal social activities, where employees build relationships and assimilate into the company’s culture. This study examined barriers B/LV employees experienced and strategies used in getting to know colleagues, developing friendships, and networking for career advancement. This qualitative research study was based on data gathered for a dissertation at the University of Toronto. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 B/LV employees in Canada. Valuable insights were discovered regarding coping strategies used by B/LV employees to access the social arena. Strategies ranged from avoidance to active intervention. Thematic analysis was used to identify four categories for the reported strategies, namely, passive, resourceful, receptive, and proactive. These strategies reveal strong motivation to engage in the social arena and achieve social acceptance. Further research is warranted on the benefits of ‘strategic chat time’.

Obstacles to Success in the Workplace for People With Disabilities

Our objectives in this article were to summarize research relevant to obstacles that people with disabilities face in the workplace and to identify directions for future research on the topic. We included review, theoretical, and empirical articles in management journals and those in psychology or rehabilitation journals if they had clear workplace implications. We argue that obstacles identified in prior research may only partially reflect organizational reality. This is because of the heavy reliance on laboratory studies, which we urge researchers to replicate in organizational settings. A better understanding of obstacles will lead to more evidence-based solutions for human resource development (HRD) practitioners to create a less exclusionary workplace wherein all employees are provided opportunities to use their talent.

Stigma as a barrier to employment: mental disability and the Americans with Disabilities Act

In a controversial expansion of workplace civil rights, the 1990 Americans with Disability Act (ADA) extended anti-discrimination protection to individuals with "mental impairments." One of the most critical barriers to the employment of individuals with mental disabilities is the degree of social stigma such disabilities incur, and there is compelling evidence that employers have stigmatizing attitudes and have discriminated against those with mental disabilities. This study examines the role played by stigma in employers' response to the 1990 Americans with Disability Act (ADA). A stratified sample of one hundred ninety employers were surveyed in 1996-1997 in a major Southern metropolitan area. Telephone interviews were completed with one hundred seventeen employers (response rate of 61.6%). The article describes employers' experiences with employees with mental disabilities and accommodations, specific employment practices, and attitudes towards those with mental disabilities. Stigma played an important role in conformity to the ADA (operationalized as either hiring or having specific recruiting policies for hiring individuals with mental disabilities). Furthermore, employers expressing coercive (fear of a lawsuit) as opposed to normative (belief that it is the right thing to do) rationales for compliance were more likely to hold stigmatized attitudes. Employers' beliefs about mental disability form a crucial foundation for truly supportive work environments (those that value difference and diversity), and further research is needed to determine if over time the ADA is successful in changing attitudes as well as behavior.

The assessment of attitudes toward individuals with disabilities in the workplace

The authors conducted 2 studies to develop and test measures that assess beliefs about what constitutes a disability, affective reactions to working with individuals with disabilities, and beliefs about the reasonableness of workplace accommodations, in general and within the context of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The results of these 2 studies showed substantial differences in what was considered to be a disability. In general, more physical and sensory-motor conditions were considered disabilities than were psychological conditions. Furthermore, the conditions believed to be disabilities did not necessarily match what is covered by the ADA. Gender and experience with individuals who are disabled were also found to predict affective reactions and the reasonableness of accommodations. Implications for organizations are discussed.

Anxiety, attitudes, and sex roles of male college students in a "Buddy Program" for persons with disabilities

This study measured the anxiety, attitudes toward people with disabilities, and sex roles of a sample of undergraduate men attending a military college in the southeast (n=58). Students who had voluntarily participated in the college's "Buddy Program," in which the students interact on a weekly basis with people with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities, were compared with peers who had had limited or no such contact. Data analysis showed no significant differences in androgyny and attitudes toward people with disabilities between the two groups. However, there was a significant difference in anxiety when interacting with persons with disabilities. Correlational analyses showed that scores indicating lower general anxiety and lower anxiety specific to interacting with persons with disabilities were significantly correlated with attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Implications for recruiting and training male volunteers to work with persons who have disabilities are discussed.

Anxiety, Attitudes, and Sex Roles of Male College Students in a “Buddy Program” for Persons with Disabilities

This study measured the anxiety, attitudes toward people with disabilities, and sex roles of a sample of undergraduate men attending a military college in the southeast ( n = 58). Students who had voluntarily participated in the college's “Buddy Program,” in which the students interact on a weekly basis with people with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities, were compared with peers who had had limited or no such contact. Data analysis showed no significant differences in androgyny and attitudes toward people with disabilities between the two groups. However, there was a significant difference in anxiety when interacting with persons with disabilities. Correlational analyses showed that scores indicating lower general anxiety and lower anxiety specific to interacting with persons with disabilities were significantly correlated with attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Implications for recruiting and training male volunteers to work with persons who have disabilities are discussed.

Employment of individuals with mental disabilities: business response to the ADA's challenge

This research examines the response of the business community to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with specific focus on the employment of those with mental disabilities. The ADA is viewed as an important "rational myth" in that it represents both a legal and normative demand with which businesses are expected to comply. Yet employers' responses will be influenced by their attitudes toward persons with mental disabilities as well as their concern with legal sanction for discriminatory behaviors. A telephone survey was completed in a southern metropolitan area with a random sample of 117 businesses in order to access the knowledge employers have about the ADA (and its inclusion of those with mental disabilities), the compliance with the ADA, the employment practices, and the role played by stigma in the employment of individuals with mental disabilities. In terms of specific practices which indicated compliance with the ADA, a little over one-third of the companies which were surveyed by telephone had a Title 1 implementation plan, 15% had specific policies for hiring those with mental disabilities, and 37.6% had indeed hired such an individual. The role of coercive and normative rationales for compliance to the ADA was examined. It was found that receiving formal information about the ADA, threat of legal sanction, and previous employment of those with mental disabilities were all significant predictors of compliance with the ADA. Stigmatizing attitudes did not predict compliance, though employers did view those with mental disabilities with more discomfort than other types of employees.