Physical Disability at Work: How Functional Limitation Affects Perceived Discrimination and Interpersonal Relationships in the Workplace

Abstract

Adults with disability have significantly lower rates of labor force participation relative to persons without disability, although it is unclear whether this disparity extends to subjective workplace experiences. Using data from the 2004 to 2006 wave of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (n =2,030), we evaluate: (1) whether U.S. workers with physical disability report higher levels of perceived job discrimination and unequal workplace opportunities and lower levels of supervisor and coworker support and (2) whether these patterns differ by sex, age, and occupation group. We find that workers with physical disability fare significantly worse on all four outcomes net of covariates. Disability takes a particularly large toll on men’s perceived workplace opportunities and white-collar employees’ relationships with coworkers. Young adult workers (ages 30–39) with disability report significantly more support from their supervisor relative to their counterparts without disability. We discuss implications for research and policy.

Take the Day Off: Examining the Sick Role for Chronic Back Pain by Race and Gender

“…Although women's participation in the labor force has increased over time, they are still more likely to take on more household labor compared with men (Hochschild 1989), which results in women having greater demands regarding work and family. Additionally, research shows that women perceive taking time off as an additional barrier to occupational advancement (Carr and Namkung 2021). Men, on the other hand, have been shown to feel more confident in their abilities and anticipate successful outcomes relative to their women counterparts (Stamarski and Hing 2015), which may make them more willing to take time off work when necessary.…”

Impact of Stress on Employee Performance at Jamsai Firm in Bangkok, Thailand

“…Smith, Hughes, DeJoy and Dyal (2018) noted that some of the factors of work stress could be: Interpersonal reasons, role demand, job demand, the structure of the firm, style of leadership, organizational job culture etc. Interpersonal causes result from interpersonal relationships when workers find an unsupportive environment or any personal remark from others at work (Carr & Namkung, 2021). Stress causes include inadequate time management, vague work descriptions, inadequacy and instability, lack of ability to get things done, poor communication, negative individual relationships, and quality and intricacy of activities.…”

“…Smith, Hughes, DeJoy and Dyal (2018) noted that some of the factors of work stress could be: Interpersonal reasons, role demand, job demand, the structure of the firm, style of leadership, organizational job culture etc. Interpersonal causes result from interpersonal relationships when workers find an unsupportive environment or any personal remark from others at work (Carr & Namkung, 2021). Similarly, Suleman, Khattak and Hussain (2021) viewed stress-associated ailments as the highest causes of low-performance levels in the workplace.…”

Examining the impact of reasonable accommodation appraisals on New Zealand managers' attitudes toward hiring people with disability

“…Disability at work remains an under-investigated domain within organisational diversity research (Gould et al ., 2022), but a growing body of literature has made substantive contributions to our understanding of PwD experiences at work and of the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives, including RA. This research has developed primarily around three main themes: (a) the lived experiences of PwD, spanning ableism, workplace relationships and employment outcomes (Carr and Namkung, 2021; Grześkowiak et al ., 2021; Lindsay et al ., 2022), (b) PwD views of the RA process and outcomes and the factors that influence their decision to disclose disability (Brzykcy and Boehm, 2022; Dong et al ., 2021; Kulkarni, 2022) and (c) disability support and inclusion practices in organisations (Gould et al ., 2022; Jansen et al ., 2022; Kwan, 2021). Yet, less is known about managerial attitudes toward hiring PwD, specifically how RA processes influence these attitudes, which has been noted as a significant gap in the literature (Bonaccio et al ., 2019; Cavanagh et al ., 2017; Suresh and Dyaram, 2022).…”