Date

9-17-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Kate Andrews

Keywords

disability, disability type, employees with disability, servant leadership, job accommodations, effectiveness of accommodation support, job performance, IWPQ, SLQ-7, NSHD

Disciplines

Human Resources Management | Leadership Studies

Abstract

Over 11% of working-age adults have a disability in the United States. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act established accommodations as the gold standard to help disabled individuals perform at work. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the moderating effect of servant leadership on the relationship between accommodation support and job performance across different types of disabilities. This study used a cross-sectional online survey with NSHD disability types, the servant leadership SLQ-7, a question about the effectiveness of accommodation support, and the IWPQ for job performance. Survey responses were collected anonymously from 248 disabled workers with accommodations. The effectiveness of accommodation support differed across groups of NSHD disability types. Post-hoc analysis revealed different effectiveness of accommodation support for mental illness/psychiatric and sensory disabilities. Results showed a positive correlation between servant leadership and the job performance dimensions of task performance and contextual performance. Additionally, a correlation between the effectiveness of accommodation support and all three dimensions of job performance was found, including a negative correlation with counterproductive workplace behaviors. Servant leadership was shown to have a moderating effect on accommodation support and all dimensions of job performance. This study is important because it helps establish a stronger business case for supporting employees with disabilities through workplace accommodations and leadership.

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