Social relationships in the workplace.

As more workers with disabilities are competitively employed, there are numerous opportunities to form social relationships with their co-workers. Close social relationships are associated with a number of positive outcomes (e.g., happiness, less stress) and should be actively pursued for those individuals desiring them. In this paper, we describe the types of social interactions displayed in work settings employing workers with and without disabilities. We also discuss some of the social problems experienced by some workers with disabilities. Finally, we describe two general categories of intervention strategies that have been used to impact social relationships: (a) strategies that involve changing the social behaviors of workers with disabilities, and (b) natural support strategies. The results from these strategies are discussed, and future areas of research are described. MRDD Research Reviews 7:128-133, 2001.

Social disclosure among coworkers without disabilities in supported employment settings.

The depth and breadth of reported self-disclosure by workers without disabilities (respondents) for three types of coworkers (i.e., work acquaintances, work friends, and social friends) were assessed. Reported self-disclosure of coworkers to supported employees was also compared, and the extent to which self-disclosure by respondents to job coaches correlated with intimacy of relationships between supported employees and respondents was analyzed. Results indicated that depth of self-disclosure can contribute to friendship formation, but coworkers did little self-disclosing to supported employees. Self-disclosure to job coaches did not correlate significantly with the development of relationships between the coworkers and supported employees. There is a need to teach supported employees to self-disclose to their coworkers and to prompt coworkers to talk about themselves in depth.