Work

Alternative for Whom? Conceptually Exploring Meaningful Work for People With Disability in Alternative Forms of Work Organization

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT This theoretical paper explores the role of an ethics of embodiment perspective in promoting meaningful work for people with disabilities in Alternative Forms of Work Organization (AFWO). Starting with a consideration of the importance of meaningful work within a broader project of disability inclusion, the paper addresses four main challenges that AFWO faces, as expressions of a neo‐normative paradigm, in producing meaningful work for people with disabilities while considering issues of embodiment: (1) self‐identity; (2) autonomy/flexibility; (3) abstract embodiment; (4) Intermediate space/time. Referring to crip theory, a radical and provocative approach in disability studies that challenges normalization and compulsory able‐bodiedness, the paper then proposes four illustrative cases that offer a critical and innovative view on embodiment. From the analysis of these cases, we identify four categories for a crip ethics of embodiment: (1) crip self‐identity; (2) mixed ability organizing; (3) meaningful embodiment; and (4) non‐normative space/time. We argue that these four categories provide new pathways for AFWO to promote meaningful work for people with disabilities and represent a potential turning point in reflecting on the neo‐normative approach in organizations.

Source: Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility

DOI: 10.1111/beer.12796

Authors: Davide Bizjak, Domenico Napolitano, Luigi Maria Sicca

Institutions: University of Naples Federico II, Scuola Superiore Meridionale

Language: English

Topic: Disability Education and Employment

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450