U.S. Federal Employees With Disabilities: How Perceptions of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Affect Differences in Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Job Involvement

Abstract

Using the 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, this study examines whether perceptions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) help explain why federal employees with disabilities have lower levels of three predictors of work motivation: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job involvement. All aspects of DEIA have impacts, but accessibility matters most. People with disabilities have greater accessibility needs and are less satisfied with organizational responses; this difference explains much of why they have lower DEI perceptions. Lower DEIA perceptions account for nearly all the differences in job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job involvement. Although the federal service has been more effective than other sectors in achieving representation of employees with disabilities, objective measures of disability representation have minimal impact on these outcome variables. Instead, improving accessibility appears to be the key tool to making full use of the talents of federal employees with disabilities, alongside more equitable development and advancement opportunities and the espousal and enactment of inclusive leadership practices.