Accommodating employees with disabilities represents a unique challenge, even in the current era of multiple technological advancements and digital aids. As the case study under analysis demonstrates, the failure to address the needs of staff members with health disparities affects the general performance levels of a company to a spectacular degree. More importantly, the inability to meet the needs of employees with disabilities causes the relationships within the workplace to deteriorate. By conducting a series of personal interviews with staff members and observing interactions within Susan’s team, Katherine will be able to introduce effective compromise-based solutions to the issue at hand.
Examining the facts, one will see that they are fully open to a variety of interpretations. Since the nature of the relationships between Susan and her employees has not been established, and the interactions between her and her team members have not been observed, most of the conclusions rely on highly subjective evidence obtained from employees. Specifically, while there are obvious issues with how Susan approaches communication with the staff members given her disability, the context of her hostility has not been identified (Porter et al., 2019). Specifically, Susan’s retort to Katherine concerning the dynamics within her team, namely, Susan being visibly upset, shows that the issue is far from being one-sided. Additionally, even though Susan has been unprofessionally rude, the staff turning their backs on her to discuss work-related issues during the briefing indicates the presence of mutual hostility.
Moreover, revisiting the facts from different perspectives, including that one of Susan, is bound to affect how people act. For instance, shedding light on the challenges that she has been facing in the setting that has not accommodated her needs as a person with a disability fully will introduce an opportunity for empathy toward her. Moreover, the specified approach may reveal the presence of unconscious bias at work. For instance, the fact that Katherine did not consider the idea of providing the bare minimum of disability-related support to Susan being insufficient is rather telling. Admittedly, viewing the problem through a personal lens may show that Susan has been unreasonably meaningful to some of the team members (Gayed et al., 2018). However, a more comprehensive assessment of the context in which Susan has been placed may reveal that she has been deprived of an opportunity for self-actualization.
In order to manage the situation ethically and resolve the conflict, meeting the needs of all staff members and Susan, Katherine and Emily will have to conduct an assessment of the workplace setting. Specifically, personal interviews will have to be completed with each of the participants involved, including Susan. The latter will provide insights into the nature of the conflict and the issues that she has been encountering as someone with a hearing disability (Gignac et al., 2021). As a result, premises for improving the workplace setting and adjusting it to the needs of people with impairments, as well as managing workplace conflict, will arise.
With the help of interviews and observations, Katherine will be capable of constructing a conflict management strategy based on compromise and mutual understanding, thus, relieving the tension within the team and promoting an open conversation.. Although the case provides little detail concerning the relationships between Susan and her team members, it is fair to suggest that Katherine should not view Susan as the primary source of discontent within the organization. Thus, the core of the problem and the nature of problems in the relationships between Susan and her team members will be identified. Moreover, the opportunity for resolving emergent issues will be created.
Reference
Gayed, A., Milligan-Saville, J. S., Nicholas, J., Bryan, B. T., LaMontagne, A. D., Milner, A., Madan, I., Calvo, R. A., Christensen, H., Mykletun, A., Glozier, N., & Harvey, S. B. (2018). Effectiveness of training workplace managers to understand and support the mental health needs of employees: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 75(6), 462-470. Web.
Gignac, M. A., Bowring, J., Jetha, A., Beaton, D. E., Breslin, F. C., Franche, R. L., Franche, R. L., Irvin, E., Macdermid, J. C., Shaw, W. S., Smith, P. M., Thompson, A., Tompa, E., Van Eerd, D., & Saunders, R. (2021). Disclosure, privacy and workplace accommodation of episodic disabilities: Organizational perspectives on disability communication-support processes to sustain employment. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 31(1), 153-165. Web.
Porter, S., Lexén, A., & Bejerholm, U. (2019). Employers’ beliefs, knowledge and strategies used in providing support to employees with mental health problems. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 51(3), 325-337. Web.