A descriptive phenomenological exploration of how people who stutter experience the U.S. labor force

Stuttering can lead to negative workplace experiences; however, there remain gaps in understanding the breadth of experiences people who stutter have throughout key stages of labor force participation (e.g., applying and interviewing, beginning a new job, maintaining a position, establishing professional relationships, and seeking promotion). The current study bridges this gap by exploring the experiences of people who stutter when participating in the U.S. labor force.

This study utilized a descriptive phenomenological approach to explore the essential experiences of adults who stutter throughout labor force participation. Ten adult participants who stutter currently employed in the U.S. labor force were recruited and engaged in semi-structured interviews about their personal experiences. Transcript data were thematically analyzed to develop themes and subthemes reflecting prevalent experiences.

Four themes emerged that characterized participants' experiences throughout labor force participation, highlighting the central role of internal experiences alongside supportive, ambiguous, and exclusionary workplace actions. Internal experiences were described by participants as having the greatest influence on the quality of working life. Adverse workplace actions, while widely recognized, were described as occurring less frequently than supportive or ambiguous experiences.

Findings describe participants' labor force experiences as shaped not only by workplace actions, but also by their internal experiences in response to those actions.