Abstract:

Employees who are hard of hearing (HoH) face a complex and often an ambiguous position in office workplaces. As individuals with an invisible disability, they may be perceived as fully hearing until communication breakdowns occur, positioning them between inclusion in the hearing majority and potentially categorised as disabled and incapable. This ambiguity shapes how competence, credibility and professionalism are interpreted in contexts where organisational participation frequently relies on spoken interaction, meetings, and rapid verbal exchange. Although disability inclusion has gained increasing attention in organisational research and practice, the experiences of HoH professionals, particularly in terms of identity negotiation, disclosure, and stigma, remains underexplored. This paper examines how individuals navigate their disability and professional identities in hearing dominant workplaces. Guided by Goffman’s theory of stigma and Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory, this analysis paper focuses on the following interconnected themes: identity, disclosure, inclusion, exclusion, accessibility, communication preferences, workplace flexibility, and the perceived advantages and challenges that HoH employees face in the workplace. Emerging findings suggest that disclosure is an ongoing negotiation shaped by anticipated stigma due to prior lived experiences, organisational norms surrounding competence, and perceived career implications. This paper contributes to organisational and disability research by integrating stigma theory and social identity theory to explain how invisible disability reshapes professional identity construction. It offers a conceptual framework for understanding vulnerability, with implications for improved inclusive practices and policies.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Identity

Keywords: Identity work;Social Identity Theory / identification / self-categorisation;Organisational identity;Diversity;Developing / extending identity theory;Qualitative;Narrative methods

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Prof Marian Crowley-Henry