Help-Seeking Behaviors of People with Disabilities in the Workplace

Drawing upon in-depth interviews with forty-one respondents, the present study explores how different types of pre-entry relationships
influence post-entry help-seeking of people with disabilities during the socialization period. Findings indicate that help-seeking
is influenced by pre-entry relationships that persist post organizational entry and by coworkers who can trigger a self-perpetuating
cycle of relational acceptance by the broader group of colleagues. Findings imply that pre-entry relationships with coworkers
can offer newcomers relational benefits that are similar to those afforded to longer tenured employees. The study raises questions
about optimal balance in workplace relationships and about social boundaries created by fairness considerations.