The education, training and developmental support for employees with disabilities : a wellness perspective

Abstract

This study investigated the education, training, and developmental support offered to employees with disabilities, the contribution thereof to their wellness, and the support needed to further improve their wellness. The Bio-psycho-social Model of Disability and the Six-dimensional Model of Wellness were used as the theoretical lenses to better understand disability and wellness. The aim was to answer the research question, “What kind of education, training, and developmental support is offered to employees with disabilities in organisations?” Within the interpretivist paradigm, the researcher used qualitative research to better understand the wellness experiences and developmental needs of employees with disabilities. Twelve participants were identified with the assistance of organisational representatives as part of snowball sampling, before the researcher conducted semistructured interviews with each. The researcher and an independent co-coder then analysed the data, using content analysis. The study revealed that participants described mostly positive experiences on all six wellness dimensions, but they considered the education, training, and developmental support provided insufficient on most of the dimensions. They indicated that, to improve their wellness, their employers need to offer disability-specific education, training, and developmental support to all stakeholders including colleagues, managers and community members. This stressed the need for a wellness framework that includes the education, training, and developmental needs unique to disability. The Wellness Framework for Employees with Disabilities proposed as a result of this study indicates the participants’ personal and work-related developmental needs, as well as the organisational and community development they feel will contribute to their wellness. This support should also empower employees with disabilities to become change champions for disability, to drive disability awareness, and, with organisational support, change and ensure the implementation of relevant public policies. The study was limited by the availability of research on disability, and further research to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed wellness framework and the disability-related public policy developed since 2014 is suggested. Future studies could also investigate other wellness variables, to holistically understand the wellness of persons, specifically those with disabilities.