What does this research mean for the field?

The lack of formal recognition for invisible disabilities, combined with unsupportive employer care, produces institutional betrayal and moral injury that erodes worker well-being and organizational attachment. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how the gap between invisible chronic impairment and formal legal disability recognition influences employment conditions and worker well-being.

September 8, 2026Work Employment and Society

You don’t look sick: Invisible disability, moral injury, and organisational betrayal on the retail front-line

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Authors

MTMilena TekesteUniversity of Reading AAAmal AbdellatifNorthumbria University THTasos HadjisolomouUniversity of Strathclyde

Discussion

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Implication

Qualitative case study reveals moral injury and institutional betrayal in retail workers with unclassified chronic illness, highlighting failures in institutional support.

Key Points

To examine how the gap between invisible chronic impairment and formal legal disability recognition influences employment conditions and worker well-being.
Conducted an in-depth qualitative single-case study of a front-line retail worker in Germany named Jordan.
Analyzed personal testimony regarding living with a chronic kidney condition that impairs work capacity while falling below the statutory threshold of the German Sozialgesetzbuch IX (SGB IX).
Absence of formal disability classification rendered the worker's physical suffering invisible to institutional support structures, leaving workplace accommodations entirely contingent upon individual managerial discretion.
The combination of unsupportive management and rigid legal classification thresholds generated institutional betrayal and moral injury, eroding organizational attachment and worker health.

Cite This Study

Tekeste et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9fd70a58e84d0ff5b4599c https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170261476001

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Implication

Qualitative case study reveals moral injury and institutional betrayal in retail workers with unclassified chronic illness, highlighting failures in institutional support.

You don’t look sick: Invisible disability, moral injury, and organisational betrayal on the retail front-line

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

You don’t look sick: Invisible disability, moral injury, and organisational betrayal on the retail front-line

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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