- Title
- Workplace experiences of employees with hearing impairment
- Creator
- Nealon, Michele Jan
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Masters Research - Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
- Description
- This research investigated the experiences of Australian employees with hearing impairment who communicate orally in the workplace. Using mixed methods research, one hundred and fifty-nine people with hearing impairment responded to a sixty-one item online questionnaire, fifteen people participated in one of three focus groups and three people participated in an in-depth interview. The online questionnaire collected demographic information of the cohort and solicited information on the individual’s use of assistive technologies, experiences accessing workplace modifications, discrimination and knowledge of Australian Government support programs. The focus groups set out to gather additional qualitative context to the responses from the online questionnaire on the experiences of employees requesting workplace modifications, the value of supportive colleagues and illuminative descriptions of a workplace utopia - an environment that employees believed would allow them to offer their very best contributions to the workplace. The first in-depth interview involved an individual who chooses not to use any assistive technology, discussing her choice and subsequent experiences in the workplace, another who has experienced but not formally reported workplace discrimination in an organisation that publicly celebrates its diversity and inclusion platform while the third in-depth interview was with an individual who works in the deafness/education sector and included a discussion of the inclusion practices of professionals in the sector. Using the complementary strengths of quantitative and qualitative methodology, the research results were analysed separately and two set of findings were produced. The integration of quantitative and qualitative data in the mixed methods reporting was completed with an eye to providing a deeper understanding of the data from one source alone. Where previously published literature comments on similar findings, references and connections are noted. The key results of the research include those that demonstrate that the disconnected or even isolated nature of the individuals in the cohort means they have few opportunities to discuss the communication challenges faced or obtain peer support in overcoming the barriers experienced in the workplace. Further, despite the difficulties experienced communicating in the workplace, it became clear that the cohort has few opportunities to trial existing technologies. Surprisingly, a third of respondents to the study had never had contact with any of the Australian support or advocacy organisations designed to assist people with hearing impairment. In the area of workplace discrimination this study reported no relationship between the age of the complainant, their title or position in the organisation, the highest level of education attained or the level of deafness experienced and the reporting of discrimination. Respondents who had experienced and reported discrimination said that in three quarters of occasions the issue was not resolved to their satisfaction. Half of the respondents also believed there were negative consequences to reporting the discrimination. Key suggestions that have emerged from the research include the need for the development of a program of assessment, education and intervention services that draws on the knowledge and experience of a range of allied health professionals to provide education and support to employees with hearing impairment and their employers. Support organisations too can contribute to the gap in education and support of the cohort by distributing current information and resources and offering opportunities for employees to engage and offer support to their peers. Also suggested is a study to measure the general community awareness and knowledge of the Disability Discrimination Act and in particular, a study to determine employers understanding of the legally binding requirements of the Act. Conversely, it is suggested that employees with hearing impairment consider educating themselves on the Disability Discrimination Act as it applies to people with hearing impairment to ensure they have a structured way of dealing with issues they experience.
- Subject
- workplace; hearing impairment; employees; hearing loss; adjustments
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1389602
- Identifier
- uon:32905
- Rights
- Copyright 2018 Michele Jan Nealon
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 873 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 208 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |