Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb 12;19(4):2058.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042058.

Diversity of Perceptions of Disability in the Workplace vs. Cultural Determinants in Selected European Countries

Dorota Kwiatkowska-Ciotucha  1 , Urszula Załuska  1 , Cyprian Kozyra  2 , Alicja Grześkowiak  3 , Marzena Żurawicka  4 , Krzysztof Polak  4
Affiliations

Diversity of Perceptions of Disability in the Workplace vs. Cultural Determinants in Selected European Countries

Dorota Kwiatkowska-Ciotucha et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The perception of people with disability (PwD) is of key importance for the full inclusion of this group in the labour market. The article presents selected results of research on the perception of PwD in the workplace. The analyses are based on the results of semiotics research conducted in Poland and of quantitative study in the form of computer-assisted Internet interviews (CAWI) carried out on representative samples from eight European countries. Opinions of Internet users were collected in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Germany, Poland, Sweden and Great Britain. The results of semiotic analyses on texts mainly from Polish culture made it possible to identify the prevailing images of disability in Polish popular culture and inspired the authors to seek diversity in perceptions of disability depending on social and cultural patterns in a given country. The results of the international survey were used to compare all eight countries with regard to the relationship between the dimensions of culture according to G. Hofstede, and openness to people with disability in the workplace. The conducted research indicates that the perception of the issue of disability is significantly related to the selected dimensions of culture according to G. Hofstede.

Keywords: analysis of survey results; attitudes towards people with disability; culture dimensions; semiotic analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest, as confirmed by the opinion no. 29/2020 of the Rector’s Commission on Research Ethics Wroclaw University of Economics and Business.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model of influence of culture dimensions on the openness towards PwD in the workplace.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The semiotic square.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Consequences of semiotic analysis: (a) Semiotic square for heroism and weakness; (b) Final semiotic square for disability.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Graphical presentation of the results from Table 1. BG—Bulgaria, DE—Germany, UK—United Kingdom, ES—Spain, BE—Belgium, GR—Greece, PL—Poland, SE—Sweden.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Graphical presentation of the results from Table 1. BG—Bulgaria, DE—Germany, UK—United Kingdom, ES—Spain, BE—Belgium, GR—Greece, PL—Poland, SE—Sweden.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Burke J., Bezyak J., Fraser R.T., Pete J., Ditchman N., Chan F. Employers’ Attitudes Towards Hiring and Retaining People with Disabilities: A Review of the Literature. Aust. J. Rehabil. Couns. 2013;19:21–38. doi: 10.1017/jrc.2013.2. - DOI
    1. Copeland J., Chan F., Bezyak J., Fraser R.T. Assessing cognitive and affective reactions of employers toward people with disabilities in the workplace. J. Occup. Rehabil. 2010;20:427–434. doi: 10.1007/s10926-009-9207-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gilbride D., Vandergoot D., Golden K., Stensrud R. Development and Validation of the Employer Openness Survey. Rehabil. Couns. Bull. 2016;49:81–89. doi: 10.1177/00343552060490020901. - DOI
    1. Kaye H.S., Jans L.H., Jones E.C. Why don’t employers hire and retain workers with disabilities? JOR. 2011;21:526–536. doi: 10.1007/s10926-011-9302-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Luecking R. Emerging employer views of people with disabilities and the future of job development. JVR. 2008;29:3–13.

Publication types