Leisure, work, and disability coping: "I mean, you always need that 'in' group"

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Study explored the roles of leisure in the lives of employed people with mobility impairments. The three goals of the study were to: (1) understand participants’ perceptions of the significance of leisure in their work and personal lives; (2) examine how participants perceived their disabilities influenced their leisure and work lives; and (3) understand what beliefs, strategies, and relationships contributed to participants’ quality of life and sense of work-life balance. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight individuals who self-identified as having a physical disability. Responses were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Several interesting themes emerged from the data, each highlighting the complexity inherent in negotiating disability along with more typical work-life concerns. The findings related to identity, leisure, disability coping, and the work-life balance of individuals with disabilities. The study highlights the contributions of leisure in managing and coping with disability as well as participants’ changing leisure lifestyles which, in some instances, led them to seek peers with disabilities as leisure companions. Implications for leisure programmers are also addressed.

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