Criteria for workplace-effective mobility of employees with disabilities in South Africa

Abstract

This study highlighted the implications of the absence of well-delineated criteria for the workplace-effective mobility of employees with disabilities in South Africa for their employment, development and organisational mobility. In response to the dearth of research on workplace-effective mobility, and cognizant of the importance of well-delineated workplace criteria to oppose continuing workplace prejudice and discrimination against employees with disabilities, this two-phase sequential triangulation study aimed to identify and confirm criteria and compile a theoretical model for workplace-effective mobility of employees with disabilities. The study has significance for the achievement of greater workplace equity and redress, which will enhance the strategic human resources management and the productive image of employees with disabilities, as well as reduce welfare costs by enabling more people with disabilities to access paid employment opportunities. To attain the study objectives, the study was done in two phases. The first was a qualitative phase during which focus group interviews with participants with disabilities were conducted. The second phase involved a five-point Likert scale-based Delphi process with industrial and organisational psychologists. Focus group participants were formally employed or self-employed in various organisations and were recruited from four disability categories (people who are blind or deaf, or have a physical or speech impairment) in four provinces in South Africa (the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape). The industrial and organisational psychologists who participated in the Delphi phase were used as experts with prior experience in the employee recruitment area. The study found that workplace-effective mobility is (a) a multi-dimensional concept comprised of a positive self-concept, self-efficacy, workplace accessibility, a sense of coherence and a positive sense of independence, which form the crux of criteria for workplace-effective mobility; (b) a result of self-efficacy beliefs, enabling organisational practices and workplace accessibility; and (c) at the heart of the pursuit for workplace equity to redress prejudice and discrimination against employees with disabilities in the workplace. The participating experts also reached consensus in their understanding of the term workplace-effective mobility. Within-group differences were identified for a number of categories; and therefore it is recommended that future research should be conducted on distinct categories of disabilities. Using the identified dimensions (positive self-concept, self-efficacy, workplace accessibility, sense of coherence and a positive sense of independence) and outcomes (organisational and personal effectiveness), a theoretical model of workplace-effective mobility was compiled.