THE PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES AT THE WORKPLACE WHILE CONSIDERING CONTEXTUAL FACTORS: THE CASE OF LEBANON

J. Hamzeh¹, G. Maroun², T. Abdallah², F. Ayoubi¹

¹Antonine University (UA), Department of Physical Therapy, Baabda, Lebanon, ²Antonine University (UA), Faculty of Business Administration (MBA), Baabda, Lebanon

Background: Persons with disabilities constitute a big percentage of the global population with a considerate portion of them being of working age, yet most of them remain unemployed (1). Indeed, even when employed, these individuals face obstacles that have a direct effect on their overall performance. They get challenged in terms of being productive, engaged, and satisfied while maintaining healthy work relationships with their co-workers and supervisors in unprepared workplaces with poor and unmatched accommodations (2). Despite the positive effects of their employment both on the corporate and individual levels, employees with disabilities lack the necessary resources required for them to accomplish their tasks efficiently. (3)

Purpose: The aim of this study is to quantify the performance of employees with disabilities on the Lebanese territory, in a holistic way taking into account the available context, while studying the interactions between various variables having a direct impact on overall employee performance.

Methods: Twenty-five employees were recruited from various companies after obtaining their written consent and ethical approval. The recruitment was conducted through governmental and nongovernmental organizations based on well- defined eligibility criteria. The participants filled a constructed questionnaire covering various factors and adopted from valid and reliable tools with questions on sociodemographic data, the studied variables (engagement, productivity, and satisfaction), the work environment, and COVID-19. The questionnaire was based on a five-point Likert scale and underwent a pre-test for validation. A mathematical model was used to set scoring method where (0-50) indicated low performance, (50-100) fair performance, and (100-150) high performance. IBM SPSS version 24 was utilized for data analysis.

Results: Overall performance may be quantified as fair in the tested population (99.24± 15.10) based on obtained descriptive data. Subjective employee performance was statistically dependent on engagement, productivity, quality of work, work accommodations, and supervisors' perspective (p<0.05) other factors related to work context and other socio-demographic characteristics in addition to perceived health may mediate performance and should be controlled for.

Conclusions: Overall performance is considered an important indicator in quantifying the efficiency of persons with disabilities while working yet is affected by several contextual and work-related factors which need to be well understood and managed. Future studies should look into other interactions related to several clinical, social, and personal factors in alignment with the basis of the biopsychosocial approach in addition to workplace related variables which may have direct effect on performance. Development of research informed practical and theoretical framework of implementation to manage these interactions in the workplace is a crucial action to be taken and reflected on.

Implications: This study showcases an important gap that physical therapists have to fill. Persons with disabilities are a population of interest to physical therapists, our role doesn’t end as soon as we treat the patient for their physiological impairment, the biopsychosocial approach urges us to extend our care services beyond that to ensure proper inclusion and reintegration into social life. Physical Therapists should aim to understand factors affecting the life of employees with disabilities and strive to develop framework to properly target these factors and ensure reintegration.

Funding acknowledgements: No Funding was allocated to this research project

Keywords:
Disability
Employment
Performance

Topics:
Disability & rehabilitation
Professional issues: business skills, leadership, advocacy & change management
Professional issues: diversity and inclusion

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: Antonine University

Committee: CEUA

Ethics number: CEUA 106