Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Outline

Title
Abstract
Conclusion
References
All Topics
Psychology

Invisible Disabilities: Unique Strategies for Workplace Allies

Profile image of Eden KingEden KingProfile image of Isaac SabatIsaac SabatProfile image of Afra AhmadAfra Ahmad

Abstract
sparkles

AI

This article explores the crucial role of nonstigmatized allies in supporting employees with invisible disabilities within organizational contexts. It discusses the complex stereotypes associated with invisible disabilities and the unique challenges these present for ally behaviors. The authors propose specific support and advocacy strategies for allies to address the barriers faced by individuals with invisible disabilities, emphasizing the importance of organizational policy changes and calling for further empirical research to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies.

Related papers

Understanding the Unseen: Invisible Disabilities in the Workplace
Michelle Ganz

The American Archivist

Approximately 61 million (or 1 in 4) adults in the United States have a disability. Despite this prevalence, many people cannot name a coworker who is disabled, possibly due to the number of people who have invisible disabilities. This lack of understanding of both causes and prevalence can cause both the disabled and their supervisors or managers to be unaware of how to address a disabled person's needs. In this article, the authors shed light on how to improve the professional environment for disabled archivists, staff, and patrons. People without disabilities or those with unrealized disabilities can all benefit when universal design is considered. The best way to achieve inclusivity is to encourage all employees to model the behavior you want to see in others and to normalize disabilities and accommodations. In an environment where accommodations for everyone are normalized, many of the micro- or macro-aggressions may be eliminated from the workplace, as it can help remove t...

View PDFchevron_right
Dilemmas of stigma, support seeking, and identity performance in physical disability: A social identity approach
Syed Asmat Shah
View PDFchevron_right
Othering, ableism and disability: A discursive analysis of co-workers’ construction of colleagues with visible impairments
Nanna Mik-Meyer

Human Relations, 2016

The aim of this article is to explore how able-bodied co-workers engage in the 'othering' of colleagues with impairments. Taking a discursive analytical approach, the article examines interviews with 19 managers and 43 colleagues who all worked closely with an employee with cerebral palsy in 13 different work organizations. The primary finding of the article is that co-workers spontaneously refer to other 'different' people (e.g. transvestites, homosexuals, immigrants) when talking about a colleague with visible impairments. This finding suggests that disability is simultaneously a discursive category (i.e. the discourse of ableism prevents co-workers from talking about the impairments of a colleague) and a material phenomenon (i.e. employees with impairments are a distinct category of employees in the eyes of the co-workers). Othering of employees with disabilities thus demonstrates contradictory discourses of ableism (which automatically produce difference) and tolerance and inclusiveness (which automatically render it problematic to talk about difference).

View PDFchevron_right
Implicit attitudes and discrimination against people with physical disabilities
Lisa Pagotto

2011

Although the study of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination has been a traditional focus of social psychology, researchers in this area have devoted only limited attention to the attitudes and behaviors toward people with physical disabilities.

View PDFchevron_right
Actors against Ableism? Qualities of Nondisabled Allies from the Perspective of People with Physical Disabilities
Marium Ibrahim

Journal of Social Issues, 2019

We report the results of an interview‐based study of the qualities that people with physical and sensory disabilities use to describe effective nondisabled allies. Participants (n = 16) were asked to describe a nondisabled person in their life who understood and cared about the concerns of people with disabilities. A thematic analysis of their responses suggested that they appreciated nondisabled people who offered appropriate help, were trustworthy in their understanding of disability identity, made personal connections, advocated and acted against ableism, were willing to learn, and communicated effectively. Consistent with research about White allies to people of color, participants emphasized both political and social dimensions of being an ally.

View PDFchevron_right
Encouraging the development of disability allies
Nancy Evans, Jennifer Assadi

New Directions for Student Services, 2005

The authors advocate for a constructionist interpretation of disability, grounded in a social justice perspective, by discussing disability paradigms, factors that influence attitudes and attitude change regarding disability, and disability ally development and behaviors.

View PDFchevron_right
How and when stereotypes relate to inclusive behavior toward people with disabilities
Fred R.H. Zijlstra
View PDFchevron_right
Psycho-Emotional Dimensions of Disability Within Relationships Between Professionals and Disabled People
Donna Reeve

Disability Studies: Putting Theory Into Practice, 2004

View PDFchevron_right
Disability beyond stigma: Social interaction, discrimination, and activism
Innocent Angle

Journal of Social Issues, 2010

of the Journal of Social Issues in context and by presenting questions in need of further exploration.

View PDFchevron_right
Disability and ‘Care’: Managers, Employees and Colleagues with Impairments Negotiating the Social Order of Disability
Nanna Mik-Meyer

Work, Employment & Society, 2016

This study explores how the 'care' of able-bodied colleagues and managers (observers) affects their relationships with employees with cerebral palsy. Disability researchers have established that 'help' and 'care' may cause feelings of dependency with the recipient (e.g., Shakespeare, 2000). However, few workplace studies have investigated the potential negative consequences of 'caring for' colleagues with disabilities. Through open-ended interviews conducted in 2013 in 13 Danish work organisations with 13 employees with cerebral palsy and 62 observers, the study examines how the relational aspect of 'care' may result in relationships between colleagues of 'parent-child' or 'helper-helpless'. The study thus clarifies the inherent contradictions embedded in the dynamics of organisational behaviour in relation to employees with disabilities, namely that workplaces may hire a person with physical limitations (perhaps to deflect accusations of social discrimination) and still end up stigmatising these workers because of the stereotypical assumptions related to employees with disabilities.

View PDFchevron_right

References (33)

  1. Ashburn-Nardo, L., Morris, K. A., & Goodwin, S. A. (2008). The confronting prejudiced responses (CPR) model: Applying CPR in organizations. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 7, 332-342. doi: 10.5465/AMLE.2008.34251671
  2. Ballard, S. L., Bartle, E., & Masequesmay, G. (2008). Finding queer allies: The impact of ally training and safe zone stickers on campus climate. Retrieved from http://uky.worldcat. org/search?scope=0&qt=wc_org_uky&q=Finding +queer+allies%3A+The+impact+of++%09ally+ training+and+safe+zone+stickers+on+campus+ climate&oldscope=&dblist=1290&wcsbtn2w=Go
  3. Braithwaite, D. O., & Thompson, T. L. (2000). Handbook of communication and people with disabilities: Research and application. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  4. Carpenter, N. C., & Paetzold, R. L. (2013). An examination of factors influencing responses to requests for disability accommodations. Rehabil- itation Psychology, 58, 18-27. doi: 10.1037/ a0030853
  5. Colella, A., & Bruyère, S. M. (2011). Disability and employment: New directions for industrial and organizational psychology. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 473-503). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  6. Connell, R. W. (2003, October 21-24). The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality. From the expert group meeting on ''The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality'' (No. EGM/Men-Boys-GE/2003/BP.1). Brasilia, Brazil: United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW).
  7. Croteau, J. M., Anderson, M. Z., & VanderWal, B. L. (2008). Models of workplace sexual identity dis- closure and management reviewing and extending concepts. Group & Organization Management, 33, 532-565. doi: 10.1177/1059601108321828
  8. Czopp, A. M., & Monteith, M. J. (2003). Confronting prejudice (literally): Reactions to confrontations of racial and gender bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(4), 532-544.
  9. Czopp, A. M., Monteith, M. J., & Mark, A. Y. (2006). Standing up for a change: Reducing bias through interpersonal confrontation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 784-803. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.784
  10. de Boer, A., Pijl, S. J., & Minnaert, A. (2012). Students' attitudes towards peers with disabilities: A review of the literature. International Journal of Disability, Development & Education, 59, 379-392. doi: 10.1080/1034912X.2012.723944
  11. Evans, N. J. (2002). The impact of an LGBT safe zone project on campus climate. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 522-539. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail ?accno=EJ650166
  12. Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 878-902. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.878
  13. Griffith, K. H., & Hebl, M. R. (2002). The disclosure dilemma for lesbians and gay men: Antecedents and consequences of 'coming out' at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 1191-1199. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.92.4.1103
  14. Hojat, M. (2009). Ten approaches for enhancing empa- thy in health and human services cultures. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 4, 412-450.
  15. Honig, H. A. (1999). Reasonable employment accommodations for persons with disabilities: A policy capturing approach. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org.mutex.gmu.edu/index.cfm? fa=search.displayRecord&id=8D69A465-CC95- B01B-0C78-04E62ACB4570&resultID=37&page =2&dbTab=pi&search=true
  16. Hunt, C. S., & Hunt, B. (2004). Changing attitudes toward people with disabilities: Experimenting with an educational intervention. Journal of Managerial Issues, 16, 266-280.
  17. Jacobs, A. E., & Hendricks, D. J. (1992). Job accom- modations for adults with learning disabilities: Brilliantly disguised opportunities. Learning Dis- ability Quarterly, 15, 274-285.
  18. King, G., Cathers, T., Polgar, J., MacKinnon, E., & Havens, L. (2000). Success in life for older adolescents with cerebral palsy. Qualita- tive Health Research, 10, 734-749. doi: 10.1177/ 104973200129118796
  19. King, G., King, S., Rosenbaum, P., & Goffin, R. (1999). Family-centered caregiving and well-being of parents of children with disabilities: Linking process with outcome. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 24, 41-53.
  20. Law, C. L., Martinez, L. R., Ruggs, E. N., Hebl, M. R., & Akers, E. (2011). Trans-parency in the workplace: How the experiences of transsexual employees can be improved. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 710-723. doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2011. 03.018
  21. Lindsey, A., King, E., McCausland, T., Jones, K., & Dunleavy, E. (2013). What we know and don't: Eradicating employment discrimination 50 years after the Civil Rights Act. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Sci- ence and Practice, 6, 391-413. doi: 10.1111/ iops.12075
  22. Madera, J. M., Neal, J. A., & Dawson, M. (2011). A strategy for diversity training focusing on empathy in the workplace. Journal of Hospi- tality & Tourism Research, 35, 469-487. doi: 10.1177/1096348010382240
  23. Moroz, A., Gonzalez-Ramos, G., Festinger, T., Langer, K., Zefferino, S., & Kalet, A. (2010). Immedi- ate and follow-up effects of a brief disability curriculum on disability knowledge and atti- tudes of PM&R residents: A comparison group trial. Medical Teacher, 32, e360-e364. doi: 10.3109/0142159X.2010.490602
  24. Rasinski, H. M., & Czopp, A. M. (2010). The effect of target status on witnesses' reactions to confronta- tions of bias. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 32, 8-16. doi: 10.1080/01973530903539754
  25. Reason, R. D., Millar, E. A. R., & Scales, T. C. (2005). Toward a model of racial justice ally development. Journal of College Student Development, 46, 530-546. doi: 10.1353/csd. 2005.0054
  26. Rillotta, F., & Nettelbeck, T. (2007). Effects of an awareness program on attitudes of students without an intellectual disability towards persons with an intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 32(1), 19-27.
  27. Ruggs, E. N., Martinez, L. R., & Hebl, M. R. (2011). How individuals and organizations can reduce interpersonal discrimination. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5, 29-42. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00332.x
  28. Sabat, I. E., Martinez, L. R., & Wessel, J. L. (2013). Neo-activism: Engaging allies in modern workplace discrimination reduction. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 6, 480-485. doi: 10.1111. iops.12089
  29. Santuzzi, A. M., Waltz, P. R., Finkelstein, L. M., & Rupp, D. E. (2014). Invisible disabilities: Unique challenges for employees and organi- zations. Industrial and Organizational Psychol- ogy: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 7(2), 204-219.
  30. Shelton, J. N., Richeson, J. A., Salvatore, J., & Hill, D. M. (2006). Silence is not golden: Intrapersonal consequences of not confronting prejudice. In S. Levin, & C. Van Laar (Eds.), Stigma and group inequality: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 65-81). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  31. Todd, A. R., Bodenhausen, G. V., Richeson, J. A., & Galinsky, A. D. (2011). Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 1027-1042. doi: 10.1037/a0022308
  32. Turner, R. J. (1981). Social support as a contingency in psychological well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 357-367.
  33. Washington, J., & Evans, N. J. (1991). Becoming an ally. In N. J. Evans, & V. A. Wall (Eds.), Beyond tolerance: Gays, lesbians and bisexuals on campus (pp. 195-204). Alexandria, VA: American Association for Counseling and Development.

Related papers

How and When Stereotypes Relate to Helping Behavior toward People with Disabilities
Gemma van Ruitenbeek

2017

Please check the document version of this publication: • A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement:

View PDFchevron_right
Stigmatizing Effects of Visible Versus Invisible Disabilities
Alicia Becton

2018

The concept of disability is complex and has been interpreted in a variety of ways. The degree to which a disorder is “disabling” depends on the interchange between the condition and other factors including the individual’s environment. Modern society’s emphasis on self-sufficiency and productivity contribute to the tendency to devalue those who are perceived as unable from these valued characteristics. Research suggests the visibility of a condition may lead to stigmatization, a concept generally associated with feelings of shame due to discontentment and devaluation of others. The authors present literature related to persons with visible and invisible disabilities, and the stigmatizing effects, while demonstrating the varying nature of stigma related to hiring practices and deliberate concealment, a phenomenon known well among persons with invisible disabilities. Additionally, the societal attitudes which lead to common barriers, negative experiences among persons with disabiliti...

View PDFchevron_right
Health Professionals as Contributors to Attitudes Toward Persons with Disabilities
Susan Roush

Physical Therapy, 1986

Negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities are common in our society. Although these attitudes are not voiced readily, they are expressed in a variety of ways and serve as barriers to the full realization of human potential. Health care professionals hold attitudes toward persons with disabilities that are similar to those of society as a whole, and they may be actual perpetuators of this limiting practice. This article explores possible origins of negative stereotypes of persons with disabilities and how these stereotypes are reinforced through the media. Health care professionals play a special role in continuing them. Change can occur through increased awareness and a humanitarian desire to reach beyond labels.

View PDFchevron_right
Cultural stereotypes of disabled and non-disabled men and women: Consensus for global category representations and diagnostic domains
Michelle Nario-Redmond

British Journal of Social Psychology, 2010

Despite the fact that disabled people comprise ah eterogeneous social group, cross-impairment cultural stereotypes reflect ac onsistent set of beliefs used to characterize this population as dependent, incompetent, and asexual. Using a free-response methodology, stereotypical beliefs about disabled men (DM) and women (DW) were contrasted against the stereotypes of their non-disabled counterparts illustrating the dimensions considered most diagnostic of each group.Results revealed that both disabled and non-disabled participants expressed consensus about the contents of group stereotypes that exaggerate traditional gender role expectations of the non-disabled while minimizing perceived differences between DM and DW. Implications for the field of stereotyping and prejudice, and the individual and system justifying functions of cultural stereotypes arediscussed. The stereotyping and prejudice field has been late in recognizing disabled people as a social group struggling forc ivil rights and facing some of the samei ssues of discrimination and oppression as otherm inorityc onstituencies.R esearcho n stereotype change, prejudice reduction, and the effects of group identity on perceptions of women, people of colour and other minority groups has yett o examine how this workg eneralizes to the circumstances facing disabled people as a socially relevant membership category. Many remain unaware that disabled people comprise one of the largest minority groups in the USA (Fujiura &R utkowski-Kmitta, 2001) assuming that disability has more to do people'si mpairments (e.g., blindness, deafness, or spinal cord injury)t han with sociallyc onstructed disadvantage, shared misperceptions, or stereotype-congruente xpectations (Gill,2 001). Instead, social psychologists have almoste xclusivelya pproached disability prejudice as representing ad isparate collection of impairment-specific stigmas each contributing to unique patterns of avoidance, anxiety,a nd ostracism (Antonak &L ivneh, 2000; Jones et al.,1 984).

View PDFchevron_right
Attitudes Toward Disability in the Helping Professions
Nancy Robinson

Disability Studies Quarterly, 2003

View PDFchevron_right

Related topics

  • Psychology
  • Business and Management
  • Industrial Organizational Psycho...
    • 580 California St., Suite 400
    San Francisco, CA, 94104
    © 2025 Academia. All rights reserved