The phrase “Out of sight, out mind” highlights organisational unawareness of the challenges faced by employees with invisible disabilities, who often choose not to disclose their condition and instead rely on individual coping mechanisms. Practices that often are unknown to coworkers, managers and human resource officers. 

This licentiate thesis explores the complexity of inclusion, stigma and disclosure, focusing on the factors that facilitate and hinder the inclusion of employees with invisible disabilities when working from home. It explores perspectives from employees, managers and human resource officers in the Swedish public sector. The study provides empirical findings based on multiple qualitative methods to explore the challenges and enablers of inclusion efforts, particularly in the post Covid context. 

The results are presented in two scientific research papers, highlighting the impact of stigma and negative assumptions about disabilities, the importance of disability awareness and creating an inclusive and open work culture throughout the organisation. Additionally, the findings show that ideal worker norms affect women with invisible disabilities in overcompensating and coping on an individual level, rather than asking for support from the organisation. This study contributes to the understanding of complexities of inclusion and disclosure, and how organisations can create a more inclusive and supportive work environment for employees with invisible disabilities. 

The aim of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of challenges and opportunities for the inclusion of employees with invisible disabilities when working from home, drawing insights from employees, managers and human resource officers. 

The study provides empirical findings from the Swedish public sector, employing multiple qualitative methods to explore the challenges and opportunities of inclusion efforts, particularly in the new ways of working. These methods include a critical case study with photo-elicitation interviews, semi-structured interviews, a diary and a document analysis (paper I). The second paper comprises semi-structured interviews with human resource officers. 

The findings from the two research papers highlight the impact of stigma and negative assumptions about disabilities, the importance of disability awareness and creating an inclusive and permissive work culture throughout the organisation. When managers and human resource officers are unaware of ongoing challenges, employees who need support and accommodation do not receive them. Additionally, the findings reveal that ideal worker norms compel women with invisible disabilities to overcompensate and cope individually rather than seek organisational support. Therefore, ableism and gendered norms need to be addressed and questioned on an organisational level to make inclusive efforts. 

When working from home, employees can manage their well-being, work productively without sensory disruptions and easier live up to ideal worker norms. Further, when working from home, emotional labour is less pronounced for employees with invisible disabilities compared to when they are in an office environment. Finally, the sense of inclusion in this study is closely tied to productivity, influenced by New Public Management principles. Employees reported that they are judged based on their output, and when delivering productivity, they feel valued and included. 

This study contributes to the understanding of complexities of inclusion and disclosure from an individual and organisational level and offers insights into creating a more inclusive and supportive work environment for employees with invisible disabilities.