Article

Findings from a study examining how women with fibromyalgia remain
employed are used to explicate a conceptualization that adds to literature on
workplace disclosure of stigmatized illnesses and impairments: disclosure dances
that employees improvise in response to workplace-relationships needs and
disclosure risks. METHODS: Critical-discourse-analysis (CDA) methodology framed
the study. Data were collected through 26 semi-structured, individual interviews
with participant triads or dyads comprising women with fibromyalgia, family
members and supervisors or co-workers. Interviews with managers who supervised
disabled employees other than the women supplemented these data. Following
coding, data were compared within and across triads/dyads through code-dimension
summaries, narrative summaries and relational diagrams. RESULTS: Women with
fibromyalgia and other stigmatized illnesses improvised everyday disclosures when
they needed to explain fluctuating work ability, when others needed reminding
about invisible impairments, and when workplace relationships changed. These
impromptu disclosures comprised three dimensions: exposing oneself to scrutiny by
disclosing both illness and impairments, divulging stigmatized illness, and
revealing invisible impairments selectively. CONCLUSION: Through impromptu
disclosure dances, women tailored disclosure to changing immediate circumstances.
While assumptions from psychological theories of risk underlie current
conceptualizations of disclosure as planned in advance, this article examines
disclosure through a different lens: social theories of everyday risk.
Implications for rehabilitation For women with fibromyalgia, disclosing illness
and impairments at work may entail risks to their jobs and workplace
relationships. Rehabilitation professionals need to consider these risks when
advising women with fibromyalgia about disclosing their illness and impairments
at work. Professionals may first want to learn from clients about their workplace
cultures and relationships, and their perceptions of disclosure risk. Professionals can then suggest a range of disclosure responses, depending on the
relationship and risk.

Langue : ANGLAIS