Organisational Contexts to Prevent and Address Everyday Harm Between People With Cognitive Disability and Support Workers

Everyday harm is the negative impact on a person when someone else does or does not do something. Examples include ignoring another person, not giving them opportunities to build their skills, or not acting on their choices. Everyday harm occurs in all relationships, including between young people with cognitive disability and paid support workers. The organisational context in which young people and support workers interact influences the likelihood of everyday harm occurring. This article examines how organisational contexts affect how young people with disability and support workers prevent and address everyday harm in their relationship. Interviews were conducted with 36 pairs of young people with cognitive disability and their support workers. The research investigated how four aspects of organisational contexts influenced whether harm occurred. These were: how organisations use places of support; how policies are applied; the ways staff are managed; and how organisations arrange support for young people. Within each aspect, interactions between formal rules and informal culture prevented, addressed, and sometimes caused everyday harm. Organisational policies that address how contexts influence the occurrence of everyday harm would help reduce it.