Are high‐performance work practices (HPWPs) enabling or disabling? Exploring the relationship between selected HPWPs and work‐related disability disadvantage

Abstract

We develop the organizational characteristics element of Stone and Colella's (1996) framework by drawing on the Ability–Motivation–Opportunity (AMO) model to assess the relationship between high‐performance work practices (HPWPs) and work‐related disability disadvantage. We develop competing “enabling” and “disabling” hypotheses concerning the influence of selected HPWPs (competency testing, performance appraisal, individual performance‐related pay, teamworking, and functional flexibility) on disabled relative to nondisabled employees. An empirical assessment of these competing hypotheses using matched employer–employee data from the nationally representative British Workplace Employment Relations Study 2011 reveals a negative relationship between these HPWPs when used in combination and the proportion of disabled employees at the workplace, although this relationship disappears in workplaces with a wide range of disability equality practices. While disabled employees report lower work‐related well‐being than their nondisabled counterparts, we find limited evidence that this is associated with the presence of HPWPs.

Are tattoos associated with employment and wage discrimination? Analyzing the relationships between body art and labor market outcomes

“…This study, coupled with French et al (2016) and Dillingh et al (2016), provides yet another indication that tattooed job seekers and employees face no discrimination in the labor market and, in fact, may even enjoy some workplace benefits vis-a-vis their nontattooed counterparts. The same cannot be said of groups like, for example, women, the disabled, and racial and ethnic minorities, many of whom continue to suffer from employment and wage discrimination (Arulampalam et al, 2007;Blau and Kahn, 2006;Deitch et al, 2003;Fevre et al, 2013;Hoque et al, 2018;Laer and Janssens, 2011). Provided that future research can address the shortcomings of the present study, we posit that it may be more productive to revert back to the study of traditional forms of discrimination that are still very much salient and, as yet, unresolved.…”

“…The literature on employment discrimination has traditionally focused on the myriad of disadvantages faced by job applicants and employees with legally protected characteristics, such as racial and ethnic minorities (Deitch et al, 2003;Laer and Janssens, 2011), women (Arulampalam et al, 2007;Blau and Kahn, 2006), people with disabilities (Fevre et al, 2013;Hoque et al, 2018), members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) community (Bell et al, 2011;Ragins and Cornwell, 2001), the elderly (Finkelstein et al, 1995;Kunze et al, 2011), or some intersection (McBride et al, 2015) of these traits (Acker, 2006;Darity and Mason, 1998). Alongside these traditional drivers of discrimination has emerged a parallel body of research investigating labor market biases that are more difficult, if not impossible, to regulate legally.…”

Fostering Well-Being Among Public Employees With Disabilities: The Roles of Disability-Inclusive Human Resource Practices, Job Resources, and Public Service Motivation

“…Recent reviews of HRM and employee well-being in general (Guest, 2017) as well as well-being among employees with disabilities in particular (Imhof & Andresen, 2018) have revealed an inadequate focus on the role of disability-specific HR practices in nurturing the well-being among employees with disabilities; albeit a specific HRM system may exert a stronger impact on specific attitudinal or behavioral outcomes of a specific social group of workers (Jiang et al, 2015). Prior research has largely examined the effect of some types of generic HR practices on work-related disability disadvantage (Hoque et al, 2018). A recent qualitative work by Bartram et al (2019) has further highlighted the necessity of specific HRM well-being practices for workers with disabilities.…”

Inequality and the Economic Cycle: Disabled Employees’ Experience of Work during the Great Recession in Britain

“…In connecting the literature on cyclical inequality with studies of disabled employees' experience of work (see, e.g. Hoque et al 2017;Jones 2016;Schur et al 2009), this article makes a distinct empirical contribution by providing the first evidence of differential changes in working conditions between disabled and non-disabled employees as a result of the Great Recession. The findings are of particular relevance to employers and government in the context of the current COVID-19 recession.…”