Exploring how Inclusive Leadership facilitate Workplace Inclusion of People with Disabilities

Abstract

This study explores middle managers' role in promoting and facilitating workplace inclusion for people with disabilities through the model of inclusive leadership, in Norway. Through qualitative interviews, valuable insights into the inclusion of people with disabilities have been obtained. The findings suggest that several components in the model are emphasized by middle managers and valued by employees with disabilities. Furthermore, this study introduces additional subcomponents to the model, as the participant of the study highlights the importance of flexibility and trust. Significantly, there exists considerable variation in the extent to which the company and middle managers incorporate and enable flexibility within their practices. Interestingly, a surprising finding of this study is that both middle managers and employees struggled to provide examples of challenges they face in their daily work life, indicating a potentially positive work environment. Moreover, our ambitions are for organizations and leaders to be motivated to adopt inclusive leadership practices and to exert a positive influence on the employment prospects of people with disabilities.