Types of Struggles in Disrupted Interaction

Everyone experiences disrupted interactions in their everyday life. However, research indicates that people with functional impairments are particularly exposed to patterns of interactional inequality at work. Despite this, little is known about the specific disrupted interactions in everyday life and the various types of interactional struggles this group encounters. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two Danish workplaces and 29 interviews with Danish hard-of-hearing employees, colleagues, and managers, I identified four types of struggles in disrupted interactions: (1) concealing interactional disruptions, (2) managing conflicts, (3) keeping track of the conversation, and (4) reintegrating into interactions. This article highlights how some hard-of-hearing employees are at constant risk of defacement, micro-conflicts, and failed interaction rituals, constituting a form of social stratification. The article contributes to existing micro-sociological literature on interaction by conceptualizing different types of struggles in disrupted interaction.