People with impairments were historically segregated and perceived as unable to work, but their social inclusion has been lately advocated in a biopsychosocial approach. Therefore, the number of workers with impairments has increased, but there is still little knowledge about the way they experience work. The aim of this study was to apprehend how workers with impairments experience and give meaning to their work. Thirty semi-structured interviews were carried out. The meaning of work was related to life organization, identity structuring and pleasure and suffering development, which resulted in resilient attitudes. Pleasure was related to personal and social rewards. Suffering was associated with the imposition and the appropriation of organizational demands, individualism, devaluation and lack of recognition. Working with an impairment proved to be a complex experience that involved the interaction between a body with impairments, the subjectivity of the worker, the work organization and the society as a whole.
disabled persons; workload; job satisfaction; psychological stress; personal narratives
