A Mirror to "Normal" Work - Ableism and the Construction of Flexjobs

The labour market is structured around ableist ideas about the ‘ideal worker’, the ‘normal job’ and the ‘ordinary workplace’. These ableist structures may exclude people with disabilities from employment and labour market participation. The literature on ableism and the labour market is limited and we contribute by studying a clear case of ableist job design. The case is ‘flexjobs’, a particular type of job designed to include people with major and permanent impairments of their work ability. Flexjobs are imbued with ableist legislation, procedures, and practices. Through a combination of document analysis, interviews, and survey data, we examine how ableism manifests itself in the construction of flexjobs. This provides us with a mirror to the ableist structures of work and the labour market and allows us to discuss the implications for conceptions of work and jobs for people with disabilities.