Beyond Disability: Enhancing Employee Mattering Through Inclusive Leadership

VARIABLE		N	%
Gender	Male	63	26
Gender	Female	176	74
Age	<35	78	33
	35–54	110	46
	>54	51	21
Job tenure	<1	42	17
	1–3	64	27
	4–6	35	15
	7–9	11	5
	>9	87	36
Position	Managerial	39	16
Position	Non-managerial	200	84
Disability type	Autism spectrum disorder	2	1
	Mobility impairments	29	12
	Sensory processing disorders	4	2
	Speech and language disorders	3	1
	Hearing impairments	7	3
	Cognitive impairments	2	1
	Mental disorders	16	6
	Visual impairments	83	35
	Not specified	93	39
Total		239	100

Research model.
Source: developed by the authors.

Table 2

Correlations between IL and mattering dimensions.

VARIABLE	SWM	IWM
IL	0.351**	0.536**

[i] ** p < 0.01.

Table 3

Linear regression analysis predicting WM.

PREDICTOR	Β	P	T	R²adj	WM DIMENSION
IL	0.317	<0.001	5.134	0.097	SWM
IL	0.530	<0.001	9.618	0.278	IWM

[i] β —estimated value of standardized regression coefficient (Beta); R²adj—adjusted R-squared (coefficient of determination); p—significance level.

Table 4

Gender differences in WM perceptions.

ITEM	GENDER	N	MEAN RANK	MANN-WHITNEY U	p
People say that my work influenced their life	Male	63	101.08	4352.000	0.009
People say that my work influenced their life	Female	176	126.77	4352.000	0.009
My work influences people’s lives	Male	63	99.09	4226.500	0.004
My work influences people’s lives	Female	176	121.49	4226.500	0.004
My coworkers/colleagues value my ideas and suggestions	Male	63	104.06	4540.000	0.028
My coworkers/colleagues value my ideas and suggestions	Female	176	125.70	4540.000	0.028
My coworkers/colleagues appreciate my support and help	Male	63	92.66	3821.500	0.001
My coworkers/colleagues appreciate my support and help	Female	176	129.79	3821.500	0.001

Table 5

Different WM perceptions by tenure.

ITEM	TENURE (YEARS)	N	MEAN RANK	χ²	p
My coworkers/colleagues would be disappointed if they knew that I may leave my job	<1	42	118.39	18.373	0.001
	1–3	64	125.35
	4–6	35	155.86
	7–9	11	137.05
	>10	87	100.26

Table 6

WM perceptions across age groups.

ITEM	AGE GROUP	N	MEAN RANK	χ2	p
I feel that society values the work I do	<35	78	100.48	10.053	0.007
	35–54	110	128.73
	>54	51	131.03
I feel my work meets a societal goal	<35	78	97.40	13.911	0.001
	35–54	110	128.86
	>54	51	135.45
People say that my work influenced their life	<35	78	96.58	15.555	0.000
	35–54	110	126.85
	>54	51	141.06
My work influences people’s lives	<35	78	106.68	11.339	0.003
	35–54	110	117.02
	>54	51	146.80

Table 7

WM perceptions by gender in the 35–54 years age group.

ITEM	GENDER	N	MEAN RANK	MANN-WHITNEY U	p
People say that my work influenced their life	Male	34	41.01	799.500	0.001
People say that my work influenced their life	Female	76	61.98	799.500	0.001
My work influences people’s lives	Male	34	39.44	746.000	0.000
My work influences people’s lives	Female	76	62.68	746.000	0.000
I feel like I matter to my colleagues/coworkers	Male	34	46.78	995.500	0.048
I feel like I matter to my colleagues/coworkers	Female	76	59.40	995.500	0.048
My coworkers/colleagues value my ideas and suggestions	Male	34	41.46	814.500	0.001
My coworkers/colleagues value my ideas and suggestions	Female	76	61.78	814.500	0.001
My boss/supervisor would be disappointed if they knew that I may leave my job	Male	34	46.25	977.500	0.036
	Female	76	59.64	977.500	0.036
My coworkers/colleagues appreciate my support and help	Male	34	38.81	724.500	0.000
My coworkers/colleagues appreciate my support and help	Female	76	62.97	724.500	0.000

Table 8

Different interpersonal mattering perceptions among managers and non-managers.

ITEM	POSITION	N	MEAN RANK	MANN-WHITNEY U	p
My coworkers/colleagues would be disappointed if they knew that I may leave my job	Managerial	39	149.17	2762.500	0.003
	Non-managerial	200	114.31	2762.500	0.003
I feel like I matter to my colleagues/coworkers	Managerial	39	151.26	2681.000	0.001
I feel like I matter to my colleagues/coworkers	Non-managerial	200	113.91	2681.000	0.001
My coworkers/colleagues value my ideas and suggestions	Managerial	39	154.35	2560.500	0.000
My coworkers/colleagues value my ideas and suggestions	Non-managerial	200	113.30	2560.500	0.000
My boss/supervisor would be disappointed if they knew that I may leave my job	Managerial	39	146.23	2877.000	0.008
	Non-managerial	200	114.89	2877.000	0.008
My coworkers/colleagues appreciate my support and help	Managerial	39	140.08	3177.000	0.040
My coworkers/colleagues appreciate my support and help	Non-managerial	200	116.09	3177.000	0.040

Model of employee mattering through IL.
Source: Developed by the authors.
Demographic characteristic increasing WM perceptions.
Demographic characteristic decreasing WM perceptions.

References

Authors

Metrics

Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.1235 | Journal eISSN: 1745-3011

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Language: English

Page range: 521 - 536

Submitted on: Dec 16, 2024

Accepted on: Sep 10, 2025

Published on: Oct 10, 2025

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

employees with disabilities,

work mattering,

societal mattering,

interpersonal mattering,

inclusive leadership,

Lithuania

© 2025 Agota Giedrė Raišienė, Violeta Rapuano, Justina Budreikaitė, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 27 (2025): Issue 1

Beyond Disability: Enhancing Employee Mattering Through Inclusive Leadership

Figures & Tables

Table 1

Figure 1