Disabilities in Working Life — A Review of Swedish Research and Some Theoretical Considerations

The socialization process of every individual toward assuming a role in working life is established early in childhood and continues to develop in interaction with working life within a given social and cultural framework. Every functional disability is unique, and every person with a disability is unique. Also, every interactional situation in working life is unique. Disabled people are both receiving and acting agents in the interactional process that takes place in working life, i.e., they are influenced by and can themselves influence the interactions with their social environment. Working life is characterized today by sweeping changes that put higher and higher demands on the labor force. More and more people risk being placed outside the job market because they cannot meet the increasing need for communication skills, social competence, social flexibility, perspective interchange, etc. The present article focuses on the front-line of Swedish research regarding disabilities and working life. Characteristic to this research is its interdisciplinary nature and its strong emphasis on practical applications. Consequently, the conditions for disabled people in working life are not being researched solely at Swedish universities. This article first deals with an international perspective on research regarding the disabled in the field of psychology. A section discussing theoretical perspectives follows. Research in Sweden is then presented in a framework of various subsections: attitudes, work market, workplace, work environment, gender, ethnicity, and miscellaneous research. Lastly, some implications for future research are discussed against the background of present breaches in knowledge.