Striving for the Ideal: Narrative Positioning Analysis of Work Ability Support Experiences of Employees with...

This study aimed to explore the work ability support experiences of workers with disabilities in non-standard employment (NSE) from the perspective of agency and identity work. As extending working lives becomes crucial in Western societies, workplaces are implementing disability management programs and support measures. While organizational support like work accommodations benefits both employees and employers, workers in NSE may lack access to such support at workplaces. Using narrative positioning analysis and treating interviews as social interactions where the knowledge is co-created by the interviewer and interviewee, we show how agency and identity are negotiated in relation to employer-based work ability support and how identity positions available and deployed for the interview participants are jointly constructed during the interview process. We present our results through 3 narrative types: the self-reliant and resourceful worker, the inadequate and vulnerable worker and the disabled but good worker. Our analysis highlights workers' own voices and situationally constructed and nuanced agency and identity. Based on our findings, we suggest that in maintaining work ability in NSE, the emphasis is on individual responsibility, resources and actions, requiring significant identity work. This identity work is shaped by contemporary worker ideals, influenced by ableist and neoliberal norms.