Social Ecology of the Workplace

The collection contains six papers of studies which investigated the social ecology of the workplace and associated implications for friendship formations between adults with and without mental retardation. The papers' authors, Janis Chadsey-Rusch, Frank Rusch, Patricia Gonzalez, Jeffrey Tines, Kathleen Minch, and Carolyn Hughes, observed competitive and supported employment settings and analyzed social interactions. Papers have the following titles: "Social Ecology of the Workplace: Employers' Perceptions versus Direct Observation"; "Social Ecology of the Workplace: A Study of Interactions Among Employees With and Without Mental Retardation"; "Identification of Co-Worker Involvement in Supported Employment: A Review and Analysis"; "Evaluation of the Role of Job Site Supervisors in the Supervision of Employees with Severe Disabilities"; and "Social Ecology of the Workplace: Coding Categories and Rules." Among overall findings were that workers with mental retardation were just as likely to be involved in social task-related interactions with co-workers. They were not as likely to be involved in social nontask-related interactions. (DB)