Assessing social integration in employment settings: current knowledge and future directions

Area of Science:

• Employment Studies
• Disability Inclusion
• Workplace Social Dynamics

Background:

• Limited understanding of social integration for employees with disabilities.
• Need for standardized measures to assess workplace social interactions.
• Existing literature lacks comprehensive analysis of social interaction patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To classify empirical measures for assessing social integration of employees with disabilities.
• To aggregate findings on social interaction patterns in employment.
• To identify similarities and differences in interactions between employees with and without disabilities.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of descriptive studies from 1985-1995 in employment literature.
• Classification of empirical measures for social integration.
• Aggregation of findings on social interaction patterns and comparison across disability status.

Main Results:

• Ten categories of social interaction measures were identified.
• Social interaction occurrence varied based on environmental context and disability status.
• Significant differences and similarities were noted in interaction patterns.

Conclusions:

• Aggregated findings offer insights into workplace social integration.
• Critical gaps in knowledge regarding social integration of employees with disabilities persist.
• Further research is needed to address identified knowledge gaps.