Despite the passage of almost two decades since the enactment of the Americans With Disabilities Act in the United States, individuals with disabilities are still underrepresented in the workforce, tend to hold lower status jobs, and receive lower wages. This study examines whether disabled workers also continue to encounter more negative workplace experiences in terms of discrimination and injustice. A sample of 1,880 employees of a large university, including 90 self-identified disabled individuals completed a work experience survey. Analyses indicate that disabled employees reported more overt and subtle discrimination and more procedural injustice than their non-disabled counterparts. Examination by the type of disability also revealed that those with non-physical disabilities reported more negative experiences than employees with physical disabilities. Perceived organizational and supervisory support were shown to have promise in reducing the effects of disability status on workplace attitudes and perceptions.

The human response to the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a concerning decline in empathy for each other and the planet. A dualistic conception of mind and body coupled with a capitalist society that requires belief in an inherent self to fuel consumerism both complicate our ability to empathize because these ideas reify our conventional self. This paper argues that an understanding of the Buddhist conception of emptiness as explored in Nagarjuna’s Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā) paired with mindful observation of embodied physical experience can allow for an understanding of “self” as a web of interacting processes within the larger web of interacting processes which constitutes the world. This can facilitate a shift in our mode of engagement with the world towards one of empathy because it demonstrates the emptiness of essence of an inherent self and instead situates the conventional “self” as interrelated with the world. Touching on related concepts such as Thich Nhat Hanh’s interbeing, this paper argues that contemplating emptiness while practicing Buddhist mindfulness techniques rooted in bodily sensation can facilitate empathy, which allows for the possibility of not only recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but also of rebuilding our global community and thriving as a more empathetic society in the future.