Examining information systems use to facilitate the workplace accommodation process

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The workplace accommodation process is often affected by ineffective and inefficient communications and information exchanges among disabled employees and other stakeholders. Information systems (IS) can play a key role in facilitating a more effective and efficient accommodation process since IS has been shown to facilitate business processes and effect positive organizational changes. OBJECTIVE: Since there is little to no research that exists on IS use to facilitate the workplace accommodation process, this paper, as a critical first step, examines how IS have been used in the accommodation process. METHODS: Thirty-six interviews were conducted with disabled employees from various organizations. Open, axial, and selective coding were part of the analysis. Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was used to identify different levels of IS use based on participants’ descriptions. RESULTS: An IS used in the workplace accommodation process consists of electronic request form, accommodation checklist, special budget, specific role, ancillary service, formal policy and procedure. There are different levels of IS use in the current accommodation process. The high-level IS use often results in a better accommodation performance than the low-level IS use, including high efficiency, high effectiveness, and low emotional tolls. Nevertheless, the high-level IS use often uses a specific, inflexible template as well as disregards human elements in the accommodation process. CONCLUSION: This work provides implications that future IS design should raise awareness of disability and accommodation, account for individual differences, involve multiple stakeholder inputs, as well as address the fundamental social issues in the accommodation process.