Hello GDO members,
My name is Christy Nittrouer, and I'm putting together a presenter symposium submission regarding disability in the workplace for the 2020 AOM meeting in Vancouver (Aug 7-11th).
The theme of the submission is interventions that work, at the individual, group, or organizational levels.
Currently, two possible submissions, first, examines the effect of a federal policy as potentially setting a social norm to affect the hiring and retention rate of people with general disabilities, and second, explores the effect of identity management strategies used by allies when representing candidates with cognitive disabilities to hiring managers.
The spirit of the submission is identifying variables that affect workplace-related outcomes for people with general disabilities (or a specific group of disabilities), in an effort to move the needle and improve employment outcomes for this population.
If you are interested in this topic and have a paper you think might work, I invite you to send it my way. These are the deadlines for the submissions.
January 1st: Detailed abstract (2-5 pages, guidelines here; decisions on fit will be made day-of)
January 10th: Incorporate reviewer feedback into this abstract, and send back
January 13th: Organizer submits symposium
End of March: Decisions on AOM submissions
July 24th: (Pending decision) Send updated abstract with any new results/findings/changes; organizer will confirm logistics for day-of presenting
August 7th: (Pending decision) Slides due to organizer (changes acceptable until day-of, just so there are back-up versions)
(Initial) Overview of Symposium:
People with disabilities make up 15% of the global population (WHO, 2018), a rate that only grows as the average age of the population increases as well as the prevalence of chronic conditions. Globally, the United Nation's Department of Economic and Social Affairs (U.N., 2007) reports that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities in developing countries is 80-90%, whereas in developed countries this rate is 50-70%. On average, well over half of the population of people with disabilities is unemployed. This is untenable, particularly given that job satisfaction (a precursor of which is work) is a predictor of quality of life outcomes (e.g., happiness, life satisfaction; Rice, Frone, & McFarlin, 1992); in particular, community-integrated employment better predicts independent living and economic self-sufficiency as compared to sheltered workshops or no employment (Blick, Litz, Thornhill, & Goreczny, 2016).
Despite anti-discrimination laws in the EU and the US (Article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam, 1999; ADA; 1990) that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, the employment rate for people with disabilities has remained fairly constant since the institution of these laws. Organizations have an important role in influencing employment statistics, but research lags behind in terms of investigating practices that theory suggests may make a meaningful change. In this presenter symposium, research will be presented that investigates specific variables that influence workplace-related outcomes for people with disabilities. This will contribute to developing a literature base that investigates actual employment practices and their efficacy.
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Christy Nittrouer, PhD
Assistant Professor
Human Resource Management/Organizational Behavior
University of Houston-Downtown
nittrouerc@uhd.edu
512.217.9245