By Carli Friedman, CQL Director of Research
Organizational culture can either help an organization flourish or serve as a toxin. Examples of positive cultures can include when communication is effective, there’s a culture of dignity, respect, and fairness, and employees feel empowered, etc. On the other hand, examples of toxic organizational cultures can include when there is favoritism, unfair treatment, and bullying, there are excessive workloads, there is a lack of transparency, people are micromanaged, etc. While positive organizational cultures result in better employee retention, productivity, satisfaction, and mental health, toxic organizational cultures result in employees feeling powerless and isolated, increased burnout and turnover, and poorer quality service delivery.
For this study, I collaborated with Cory Gilden, the Research and Evaluation Manager at the National Leadership Consortium. The aim of our study was to examine how provider organizational culture – specifically, human service providers treating their staff with dignity, respect, and fairness – has a cascading effect and impacts the quality of life of people with IDD. To do so, we analyzed Personal Outcome Measures® and Basic Assurances® data from 3,898 people with IDD served by 387 different providers.
We found when organizations treated their staff with dignity, respect, and fairness, people with IDD were significantly more likely be free from abuse and neglect, have the best possible health, experience continuity and security, exercise their rights, be treated fairly, be respected, decide when to share personal information, choose where and with whom to live, choose their services, and realize personal goals, regardless of their demographics. For example, when human service organizations treated their employees well, the odds of people with IDD exercising their rights increased by 154%.
The Impact of Treating Employees with Dignity and Respect on People with IDD’s Outcomes
“Organizational values and practices matter, not only to the people who work there, but also the people with IDD they support… Creating a positive culture leads to greater levels of employee satisfaction and lower turnover. DSPs who like their workplace culture and feel supported and appreciated by leadership have higher resilience, less burnout, and are more satisfied with their jobs. DSPs who are supported and satisfied with their jobs are more likely to emulate positive work culture and improve the quality of life for the people with IDD they support… Treating employees with dignity, respect, and fairness is good for business, good for employees, and good for the people with IDD being supported” (Friedman & Gilden, 2024, pp. 161-166).
This article is a summary of the following journal manuscript: Friedman, C. & Gilden, C. (2024). Treating employees with dignity, respect, and fairness: The impact on the quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Inclusion, 12 (3): 156–171. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-12.3.156
Provider Organizational Culture Impacts People with IDD’s Outcomes