The Personal and Job-Related Outcomes of Workplace Mistreatment Among Young Adults with Disabilities

Abstract

Despite comprising a significant percentage of the workforce and being susceptible to mistreatment, employees with disabilities have not been widely focused on in the workplace mistreatment literature. I conducted 11 semi-structured interviews to analyze the outcomes of workplace mistreatment among young workers who identify as having a disability; Young adults are learning about the world of work via their employment and may be more vulnerable to negative workplace experiences than their adult counterparts. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data from the interviews. Results suggest young adults with disabilities experience many negative outcomes because of mistreatment, including but not limited to those associated with their self-perceptions, social relationships and mental health. Evidence also suggests that gender and disability type, may factor into the types of consequences experienced. This research has implications for theory and research and for organizational initiatives related to employees with disabilities.