42 - THE IMPACT OF WORKER PERFORMANCE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES ON TEAM PERFORMANCE

Session: D01S019 - Workplace and Inclusion
AUTHORS:
Fajardo-Castro Leady Viky (Universitat de València ~ Valencia ~ Spain) , Gracia Esther (Universitat de València ~ Valencia ~ Spain) , Martinez-Tur Vicente (Universitat de València ~ Valencia ~ Spain) , Arbués Jorge (Universidad de Zaragoza ~ Zaragoza ~ Spain) , Estreder Yolanda (Universitat de València ~ Valencia ~ Spain)
Abstract text:
Inclusive employment of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) represents an important yet understudied area, with limited knowledge about its impact on work teams and organizations. With this in mind, our study examined whether the daily performance of workers with ID contributes to daily team performance. This hypothesis was tested using 498 daily records from 131 workers without ID across diverse industries who worked with a coworker with ID as part of their team. They reported daily on the performance of their coworkers with ID and the team as a whole during four consecutive days of work by those coworkers with ID. Using hierarchical linear growth models with Mplus 8, the results showed that within-person variance was significant, not only for daily variance in the performance of coworkers with ID (31%) but also for the daily variance in team performance (47%). Findings also supported the hypothesized relationship between the daily performance of coworkers with ID and daily team performance, with a significant parameter estimate of 0.419 (p < .01). Accordingly, daily changes in the performance of coworkers with ID are significantly associated with daily team performance. On the days when the performance of coworkers with disabilities is higher, the teams' performance is also higher. The study challenges common misconceptions about the capabilities of workers with ID and highlights their meaningful contributions to team effectiveness. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.