Experiences of Visually Impaired South African Government Employees with E-Government Services

Most governments have integrated digital technologies into all facets of their operations to improve internal government operations and enhance effective and efficient service delivery to the citizenry. As a result, accessibility of e-government services is important for all citizens, especially for persons with disabilities. Government plays a crucial role in addressing accessibility challenges internally before services can be cascaded to all citizens. While several studies have evaluated the accessibility of e-government services to persons with disabilities, these studies have not explored the perspective of visually impaired government employees. With this gap in mind, the purpose of the study is to explore the experiences of visually impaired government employees with e-government services. The study is inductive and uses qualitative semi-structured interviews to collect data from ten visually impaired government workers. The findings identified six themes that shape employees’ experiences with e-government services. The findings contribute to the gap in literature on the accessibility of e-government services for persons with disabilities employed in the government sector. The study also underpins directions for management in government workplaces regarding the needs of persons with disabilities.