從社會模式觀點探究軟骨發育不全症者之工作經驗

Social Model Analysis on the Work Experiences of People with Achondroplasia

本研究旨在探討軟骨發育不全症者求職面試、進入職場的工作經驗，經歷的機會與限制。從障礙之社會模式觀點瞭解下列三個問題：（一）軟骨發育不全症者的生心理狀況、人際關係與工作經驗、（二）影響軟骨發育不全症者的就業因素與困境、（三）軟骨發育不全症者的就業服務需求。本研究採取深入訪談方法，透過滾雪球抽樣，總共訪談十位軟骨不全症者。訪談面向以就業歷程為主軸，包括求職面試、工作經驗、就業的限制與機會，以及運用就業服務的經驗與幫助。研究結果發現：（一）在就業經驗中，面試階段較易感受負面的差別影響歧視，但透過個人社會關係或就業服務員推介媒合的工作，則可避免經歷這種被品頭論足的負面經驗。（二）就業歷程中轉職因素多元，受訪者很少將轉換工作歸因於個人身體功能與健康狀況，或身材特徵影響職場表現與人際關係等刻板因素，而是其他客觀因素，如更好的工作機會、追求專業發展、或是組織人力縮編等。轉職原因的多元化與健全者無異。（三）在就業的穩定性方面，八成受訪的軟骨發育不全症者，均有穩定工作的經驗，且職業類型多元，並未出現高流動率，女性的軟骨發育不全症者的工作穩定性又比男性高。瞭解自身的優勢尋找契合的工作類型，並且主動融入職場，是穩定就業的關鍵。（四）在就業服務需求方面，少數軟骨發育不全症者需要透過就業服務員的推介媒合，多數均運用職務再設計、輔具、汽機車改裝，來調整和解決工作環境的障礙。本研究希望透過軟骨不全症者工作經驗的探究，挑戰醫療模式之生理條件限制的觀點，從社會模式來瞭解社會偏見與環境的阻礙對工作的影響，當障礙者進入就業職場，焦點不在關注個人疾病與生理限制，障礙者踏出家門後，最大的困難是面對環境與他人的態度，透過職務再設計、輔具，改進無障礙設施設備或提供障礙者其他必要的服務等合理調整，以及改變看待身障者的刻板印象與偏見，障礙者的工作潛能會被看見，就業率也會提升。

This research study investigates the general work experiences of people with Achondroplasia. It aims to understand both the opportunities and limitations that people with Achondroplasia have faced during job interviews and at worksite. Based on the social model of disability, this study intends to analyze the following: 1. the social barriers and limitations for people with Achondroplasia to secure employment. 2. The correlation between the work experiences and individuals’ physiological status, personality and social skills. 3. The needs of employees with Achondroplasia. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with ten interviewees with Achondroplasia through snowball sampling. Interview questions centers on employment history, including job interviews, work experiences and the limitations and opportunities of employment. The findings are: 1. people with Achondroplasia experience more negative disparate impact discrimination during the job interviews, but individual’s social skills along with the help from employment counselors have eased the processes. 2. There are various factors for people with Achondroplasia to switch jobs; interviewees rarely consider the stereotypical disability-related attributes (physical ability, health, impairment and interpersonal relationships) , but other factors, such as better job offers, professional development or budget cut, as their reasons to find new jobs. 3. In terms of job stability, 80% of people with Achondroplasia have stable employment experiences; their employment types are diverse and have a low turnover rate. Woman with Achondroplasia have higher employment stability compared to men. The research finds that the key for employment stability is the individual’s insights of finding jobs that match his or her personal strength and skills. In addition, self-motivation and initiation to participate in teamwork was also the key to employment stability. 4. There are only few people with Achondroplasia who secured their jobs with the help of employment coaches. Most of them benefit from reasonable accommodations from their employers, including assistive technology and modified vehicles. This research on the work experiences of people with Achondroplasia, challenges the medical model of disability and examine the institutional bias and environmental social barriers through the lens of social model. As people with impairment enter into job field, environmental and attitudinal barriers are the main source of discriminations. It is pivotal to raise public awareness in disability employment issues by providing reasonable accommodations, assistive technologies and creating accessibility at worksite which will in turn not only help to challenging the stereotypes and bias against people with disabilities, it also helps to increase the employment rate.