The Pathway of Inclusion for Employees With Disabilities Through Work Integration Social Enterprises: Mini-Ethnographic Case Studies

Abstract

In contemporary literature, mounting evidence highlights the damaging effects of workplace exclusion, underscoring the need for effective interventions. Despite efforts at individual and policy levels, employees with disabilities (EWDs) continue to face exclusion in the workplace. Work integration social enterprises (WISEs), as an organizational-level intervention, are increasingly believed to foster workplace inclusion by integrating EWDs and employees without disabilities (EWoDs). Despite the efforts of existing studies in examining the immediate outcomes of WISEs and providing evidence of their positive impact on EWDs, there is a noticeable gap in research when it comes to investigating the long-term goals of WISEs. Consequently, there is limited knowledge about how the employment opportunities provided by WISEs affect the long-term career trajectories of EWDs and their overall workplace inclusion.

To systematically examine the role of WISEs in fostering inclusion, this study adopted a Theory of Change (ToC) framework, focusing on the three essential ToC dimensions: context, process, and outcome of inclusion. The WISE context was examined through five organizational elements summarized from the literature: corporate culture, support network, accommodations, dual mission positioning, and employment mode. The process of inclusion was analyzed within the A–P–E (Access–Participation–Empowerment) framework proposed by Gidley et al. (2010). The outcome of inclusion was examined through the inclusion framework proposed by Shore et al. (2011), which highlights the significance of a sense of belongingness and uniqueness through the lens of Optimal Distinctiveness Theory. In line with the three essential ToC dimensions, this study aims to explore (1) the favorable and unfavorable elements in the organizational context of WISEs that may impact EWDs’ inclusion pathways; (2) the degree of EWDs’ access, participation, and empowerment in the inclusion process; and (3) EWDs’ perceived sense of belongingness and uniqueness in WISEs.

Philosophically, this study adopted symbolic interactionism as research paradigm, with a focus on interactions and meaning construction. Specifically, this study is concerned with how EWoDs make sense of EWDs’ disability through symbolic interactions with them in the WISE context and how the meanings attached to EWDs impact the process and outcomes of their inclusion. In regard to method, mini-ethnographic case studies of three WISEs with EWDs located in Hong Kong and mainland China were conducted. Data was collected through two-week periods of participant observation in each WISE setting and 28 individual semi-structured interviews of various stakeholders, including 11 EWDs, their colleagues, managers and employers, a social worker, and a community member. Thematic analysis was conducted to map out each WISE’s inclusion pathway by theme.

The findings of this study have demonstrated the applicability and effectiveness of the ToC framework in the study of workplace inclusion of EWDs in WISEs. Using this framework, this study can highlight the diverse pathway preconditions that determine whether inclusion is achieved beyond employment itself. These preconditions include inclusive organizational context, equitable access, meaningful participation, empowerment, high sense of belongingness and high sense of uniqueness. When WISEs meet these preconditions, they have the potential to create long-term impact on workplace inclusion for EWDs. Conversely, this study found that the organizational context of WISEs may ascribe negative external identities such as “service recipients” and “inferior employees” to EWDs. Further unfavorable elements that hinder inclusion in the WISE context include “ableism” and “othering” practices, limited or inflexible accommodations, and over-demanding or over-protective attitudes. Furthermore, although most WISEs do provide access to EWDs in the workplace, such access is usually conditional on unequal power relationships with EWoDs. Since equitable access is a precondition for participation and empowerment, differential treatment can only hinder EWDs from achieving inclusion and having empowering and fulfilling experiences in the workplace. Regarding outcome, most of the EWDs included in this study perceived a high sense of belongingness in relation to other EWDs in the WISEs, while few perceived a high sense of belongingness in relation to EWoDs. In addition, few EWDs perceived high sense of uniqueness in their current workplace. This pattern of high sense of belongingness and low sense of uniqueness indicates that EWDs may tend to experience assimilation in WISEs. Previous literature pays less attention to these critical aspects of EWD inclusion in the WISE context.

This study has implications for scholars, WISE operators, policymakers, and social work practitioners. Theoretically, this study has proposed a shift from “disability” to “difference” to build a more positive identity for people with disabilities (PWDs), and a shift from “work integration” to “work inclusion” to highlight a need for more equal power structure between PWDs and mainstream society. Practically, this study has implications for WISE operators concerned with developing more inclusive organizational contexts. Internal practices related to culture building, work arrangements, accommodation provisions, and employee career development are suggested. In addition, this study emphasizes the role of policymakers in shaping the external environment in which WISEs operate and recommends that policymakers pay more attention to improving the quality of employment provided by WISEs, facilitating cross-sector partnerships, and supporting the evolution of diversified work positions for EWDs. Furthermore, this study underscores the significance of social work practitioners in fostering long-term employment outcome in WISEs. Social workers can be involved in WISE workplace in developing effective mechanisms. This includes facilitating mediation and communication between WISE operators and EWDs, conducting regular monitoring and evaluation of EWDs’ work performance, and spearheading education and awareness initiatives on inclusion within the broader community.

Date of Award	12 Jan 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Chi Kin KWAN (Supervisor), Wai Man Anna CHOI (Co-supervisor), Siu Ming CHAN (Co-supervisor) & Yuk Ching Sylvia KWOK LAI (Co-supervisor)