Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


48102.pdf (3.43 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Disability and Workplace Relationships: The Role of Empathy

Mason, Lauren
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1721233033811741

Abstract Details

2024, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Psychology.
Research on workplace relationships with people with disabilities (PWD) has found mixed results on emotional responses, such as empathy, to PWD in the workplace (Carpenter & Paetzold, 2013; Hirschberger et al., 2005). Within the research, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether empathy is always beneficial for workplace relationships between non-disabled individuals and PWD (Cesare et al., 1990; Colella & Varma, 2001; Lyubykh, 2016). The current study investigates the role of empathy in behavior towards PWD in the context of relationships between coworkers by conducting interviews with employees with disabilities and their non-disabled coworkers. The research questions addressed by this study are: What is the lived experience of employees with disabilities working with non-disabled coworkers?, What role do empathy and sympathy play within these relationships?, and How does an individual’s disability identity impact their relationships with non-disabled coworkers? The interviews with the disabled employees were analyzed according to interpretive phenomenological analysis (Moustakas, 1994; Smith, 2011). Dyadic analysis was also conducted on the non-disabled coworker interviews paired with the disabled employee interviews. The interviews provide valuable insight into the experiences unique to disabled employees working with non-disabled coworkers. The results reveal factors that are important to disabled individuals in their relationships with non-disabled coworkers. Empathic behaviors appear to play a beneficial role within relationships between disabled and non-disabled coworkers while behaviors based in sympathy can be harmful. Implications from the study on how organizations can integrate the beneficial behaviors highlighted in the interviews are also discussed.
Donna Chrobot-Mason, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Song Ju, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Stacie Furst-Holloway, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
110 p.
Occupational Psychology
disability; inclusion; workplace; empathy; workplace relationships

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mason, L. (2024). Disability and Workplace Relationships: The Role of Empathy [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1721233033811741

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mason, Lauren. Disability and Workplace Relationships: The Role of Empathy. 2024. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1721233033811741.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mason, Lauren. "Disability and Workplace Relationships: The Role of Empathy." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1721233033811741

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1721233033811741
59
© 2024, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Disability and Workplace Relationships: The Role of Empathy by Lauren Mason is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.