Home page Description:
9th Biennial Gender, Work & Organization Conference, Jun 29-Jul 1, 2016, England
Posted On: August 16, 2016
Image Caption:
Halina (Lin) Haag, PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Dr. Angela Colantonio, TRI
Abstract Title: Being Different in an Abled Workplace: Bridging the Gaps between Theory and Practice
Conference Highlight: This conference aims to foster an international interdisciplinary research network exploring the intersections of disability and gender within an organizational context and their impact on work.
Conference Article: A clear call for uptake of disability theory in management and organization literature and recognition of ongoing significant workplace-related challenges for people with disabilities were key conference messages. Authors explored the dominant discourse of disability as individual tragedy and its impact on the workplace, how work is viewed, and equating contribution with productivity. Efforts to improve people’s workplace experiences of disability must focus on expanding how we think about disability itself. A shift towards meaningful employment as a fundamental human right regardless of ability is needed, along with reconceptualising current abled/disabled binaries to a continuum of difference that values contribution over output.
An excellent example presented by Dr. Stefan Hardonk from the University of Iceland explored current trends towards supported employment. Dr. Hardonk and colleagues are finding that return-to-work rehabilitative programming—which appears as a step forward—has significant drawbacks that may perpetuate dependency. The program requires individuals to agree to an unpaid job-training position to receive disability benefits. Refusal is seen as a lack of commitment, and individuals are labeled as slackers and penalized. Even individuals with existing qualifications or experience justifying immediate hire over an unpaid internship cannot use this as grounds for refusal. At the end of the training period, the employer is not obligated to hire the individual and workers repeatedly place clients in the same workplace, regardless of hiring history, as it is difficult to get companies to participate in the program. This creates the potential for employers to obtain ongoing free skilled labour while individuals with disabilities are locked into a cycle of unpaid labour and public benefits. The positioning of the individual as ‘damaged goods’ that must be sold for free within a marketplace that values productivity for profit above all else is clearly detrimental for people living with disability.
Conference Highlight: This conference aims to foster an international interdisciplinary research network exploring the intersections of disability and gender within an organizational context and their impact on work.
Conference Article: A clear call for uptake of disability theory in management and organization literature and recognition of ongoing significant workplace-related challenges for people with disabilities were key conference messages. Authors explored the dominant discourse of disability as individual tragedy and its impact on the workplace, how work is viewed, and equating contribution with productivity. Efforts to improve people’s workplace experiences of disability must focus on expanding how we think about disability itself. A shift towards meaningful employment as a fundamental human right regardless of ability is needed, along with reconceptualising current abled/disabled binaries to a continuum of difference that values contribution over output.
An excellent example presented by Dr. Stefan Hardonk from the University of Iceland explored current trends towards supported employment. Dr. Hardonk and colleagues are finding that return-to-work rehabilitative programming—which appears as a step forward—has significant drawbacks that may perpetuate dependency. The program requires individuals to agree to an unpaid job-training position to receive disability benefits. Refusal is seen as a lack of commitment, and individuals are labeled as slackers and penalized. Even individuals with existing qualifications or experience justifying immediate hire over an unpaid internship cannot use this as grounds for refusal. At the end of the training period, the employer is not obligated to hire the individual and workers repeatedly place clients in the same workplace, regardless of hiring history, as it is difficult to get companies to participate in the program. This creates the potential for employers to obtain ongoing free skilled labour while individuals with disabilities are locked into a cycle of unpaid labour and public benefits. The positioning of the individual as ‘damaged goods’ that must be sold for free within a marketplace that values productivity for profit above all else is clearly detrimental for people living with disability.