Assessing the Importance of Work for People with Disabilities at Auchan, Portugal

Abstract

The inclusion of People with Disabilities (PwD's) in the labor market is a challenge and a great opportunity for companies. This inclusion process has the power to generate a great social impact in the life of PwD since they can be paid and can also play an important role that makes them feel proud and useful to society. However, this community faces many difficulties both in their inclusion and during their day-to-day work. This paper, therefore, focuses on exploring and understanding how organizations welcome these workers, what emotions they feel and how they manage them, and how well communication takes place in this context. A mixed methodology was used, with recourse to qualitative and quantitative research. Fifty disabled workers and 314 of their co-workers, employees of the Auchan Portugal Group, participated in the study. The results showed that PwD's recognize their emotions when interacting with their co-workers, but most of them disguise themselves when they feel discomfort. The feeling/emotion that mostly characterizes the daily professional life of these people is pride, which refers to the importance that work plays in their daily lives. As for organizational communication, PwD's consider it to be accessible. It was also possible to notice that although most PwD feel integrated, they suggest greater sensitivity from the employer, adapted work, and more accessibility in the workplace.