Motivating Supervisors During Disability Accommodation

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between increased job demands and strain on supervisors during disability accommodation (DA). We proposed and tested a comprehensive model of supervisors’ DA, applying/integrating existing theories on job demand and resources (i.e., demand-ability fit, job demand-control, job control-control-support, effort-reward balance, and job demand-resource models) to explain how and why supervisors’ increased job demand during DA can be negatively associated with their work motivation. Specifically, we examined whether the level of supervisors’ job strain can mediate the relationships between multiple dimensions of demand and resources of supervisors (job demand, job control, social support, and rewards) and their work motivation. We also suggest that DA complexity can be associated with increased job demand, which in turn increases strain on supervisors and reduces work motivation. Based on a sample of 335 British, Canadian, American, Australian, Dutch, and German supervisors with recent DA experience, we found support for the demand-ability fit, effort-reward balance, and job demand-resource models. Job strain did not mediate the relationship between job control and social support and work motivation; instead, job control and social support directly affected work motivation. Our findings contribute to the understanding of how increased job demand during DA influences supervisors’ strain and motivation, how DA regulates supervisors’ job demand and strain, and why sufficient job control, social support, and reward is important to support supervisors to accommodate employees with disabilities.