Stuttering in the Work Place: An Empirical Study of Issues and Challenges

Marshall Rice and Robert Kroll

Several studies in recent years (Klein & Hood, 2004; Rice and Kroll, 1994) have shown that North Americans who stutter perceive that their speech disorder has a negative impact on their employability, job performance evaluations and career advancement. The present study attempts to extend our understanding of the impact of stuttering in the work place by surveying and comparing the perceptions of a larger, more international sample of people who stutter. This includes a statistically relevant sample of people who stutter in the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain. Results show that people who stutter in all countries face significant issues and challenges in the work place.