Disabled employees’ identity work within organizational disability regimes: a study of 3 Belgian cases

Abstract

Recent scholarship suggests that the workplace experiences of disabled employees may be shaped by the organizational culture. Yet to date, little research has been done on the matter that goes beyond theoretical assumptions and simplistic divides between bureaucratic and flexible organizations. In this research paper, we make an in-depth multiple case study in three Belgian companies that are seen as ‘best cases’ for employing disabled people by means of in-depth qualitative interviews with 30 disabled employees and 26 other organizational actors. By comparing their own unique sets of disability practices (disability regimes), we discover three different underlying conceptualizations of disability and unveil the differential impacts these have on the identity constructions of disabled employees.