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Cluttering and Its Impact on Working Life and Career Choice:
Qualitative Semi-structured Interviews with Adults with Cluttering in Norway
Turid FALCK-PEDERSEN1 and Hilda SØNSTERUD2,3
1Bærum Municipality, Adult Learning Center, Sandvika
turid@tuflex.no
2Statped, National Service for Special Needs Education, Oslo.
3Nord University, Faculty of Education and Arts, Bodø
hilda.sonsterud@nord.no
1. Introduction
There are multiple factors which may influence communication and everyday life for people who clutter. Scaler
Scott (2019) confirmed increased over-coarticulation and normal disfluencies in specific speaking contexts in
persons who clutter. According to Exum et al. (2010), people who clutter may experience cluttering as frustrating
and as an interference in communication settings. A recent study of Giuffre et al. (2021) confirms that lack of public
awareness is a well-known theme in cluttering, and that lack of knowledge can lead others to make frequent requests
for repetition, to avoid people who clutter, or to assume that people who clutter are less intelligent. Speech that is too
fast and unclear will increase difficulty of understanding for others, and this may also inhibit work performance of
people who clutter. There is little research on cluttering (Ward, 2018), and information regarding the impact
cluttering has on working life and career choice is absent. This lack of information has informed the motivation for
the present study. St. Louis et al. (2020) have demonstrated that negative, stigmatizing, or discriminatory attitudes
are often shown towards people who stutter, and there is a need to explore the validity of these findings for people
who clutter.
As part of a larger project, ‘Living with cluttering’ (DAM, 2021), experiences with cluttering within the aspects of
education, work, conversation, and social occasions are investigated (Sønsterud, 2022). The aims of the present study
were to investigate the impact of cluttering on the working life and career choices of adults with cluttering.
Furthermore, the study sought to provide better evidence-based support for managing cluttering through career
counselling and employment. Two main research questions were included:
1) What factors promote and what factors inhibit the positive development of working life and career for people with
cluttering?
2) How can people who clutter be supported in achieving a positive work life?
2. Methods
Seven adults (five females) with cluttering, aged between 21-59 years, took part in a multiple single–case study (Gast
& Ledford, 2014). The participants were recruited by announcement of the study through the Norwegian Speech and
Language Therapy Association (NLL), the Norwegian Association of Stuttering and Cluttering (NIFS), and private
and municipal speech therapy services offering speech therapy to people with stuttering and cluttering. Their
observed speech behaviors were consistent with the lowest common denominator (LCD) definition of cluttering (St.
Louis & Schulte, 2011). All participants were native Norwegian speakers with cluttering employed in several
sectors: Information technology and media (n=1), health and care services (n=3), business (n=1), culture and
entertainment (n=1), and transport (n=1). All participants had received speech-language therapy (SLT) for their
cluttering at one or more times in their lives, even though this was not a criterion for inclusion in the study. Ethical
approval was granted by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (Reference #25502). All participants provided
written consent before participation, and codes were assigned to participant data to de-identify them and preserve
anonymity.
All the semi-structured interviews were recorded and transcribed orthographically by the first author. Both authors
performed the analysis of the anonymized transcriptions according to the principles of qualitative thematic analysis
outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006). The analysis was conducted and structured using NVivo data analysis software
(QSR International Pty Ltd., 2018). During the initial coding phase, coding labels were created for concepts
identified in the transcriptions. Data were categorized according to semantic similarities, following Braun and
Clarke’s (2006) six phases of analysis: Phase 1: get to know the data; Phase 2: generate initial codes; Phase 3: look
for themes; Phase 4: review the themes again; Phase 5: define and name the themes; and Phase 6: produce the
report/analysis. The final themes were derived jointly and are summarized in detail below.
3. Results
Based on the principles of a thematic analysis outlined by Clarke and Braun (2016), a consistent finding was that all
seven participants expressed satisfaction with their current working lives despite having encountered negative
attitudes when choosing a course of study, in embarking upon a profession, and/or in the work environment itself.
Interestingly, most participants (86%) had chosen a profession likely to involve significant communication and
contact with people and expressed satisfaction about this. However, all participants confirmed that their cluttering in
some situations could be a source of misunderstanding and was to some extent an inhibiting factor in communication
at work, or an obstacle to work performance. See some examples of the participants’ statements in the Appendix.
Personal narratives and experiences were highlighted in the study, and five main themes emerged: (a) Cluttering can
cause a person to be misunderstood and misinterpreted; (b) increased knowledge about cluttering can make life
easier; (c) equal opportunities for employment and in the workplace are key; (d) openness about cluttering has a
positive impact; and (e) having access to SLT is of great value.
Most participants were unsure about whether cluttering had influenced their choice of profession. Only two
participants (29%) said there were advantages to being supported when applying for jobs, while several highlighted
that they had not needed such support at work or when applying for jobs. Most of the participants identified a
trusting, authentic relation with their employer/boss as highly important, as well as the integration of written
material/key words/visual support when giving oral contributions. Access to individual support through SLT was
emphasized by six participants (86%), and SLT was for them associated with improved knowledge and awareness of
cluttering, as well as increased self-regulation and subsequent improvement of communication.
Regarding positive impacts related to cluttering, three participants (43%) mentioned that cluttering had made it easier
for them to understand the communication challenges that other people might have and made them more energetic
and engaged in their own communication.
4. Discussion
Even though all seven participants expressed satisfaction with their current working lives, they encountered negative
attitudes during one or several phases of working life. The findings in the present study indicate that being open
about cluttering, combined with improved knowledge about cluttering in society, can counteract negative attitudes
and make working life easier for people who clutter. The role of transparency and information to counteract
stigmatization of stuttering is well documented, and openness to changing the negative opinions or attitudes of others
is an important factor (St. Louis, Węsierska et al., 2020). The findings of the present study support similar factors for
cluttering.
Several participants expressed concerns about being judged less intelligent because of their cluttered speech. This
finding corresponds well with those of similar studies (St. Louis, Węsierska et al., 2020; Giuffre, Scaler Scott et al.,
2020), and reflects the clinical experience of both authors of the present study; clients who clutter frequently voice
concerns about being thought less intelligent because of their cluttering, though their intelligence often appears to be
above average.
The findings also indicate that employers would have greater understanding of employee performance in the
different work-related contexts if they had knowledge about cluttering. Without such information, hiring or
promotion decisions can be made on a faulty basis, as stated by Farrell et al. (2015). They note that employers who
are informed about cluttering are likely to make decisions about hiring or promotion that are unaffected by cluttering
provided they know what it is; therefore, employees should clearly communicate wishes or needs for personal
facilitation in the workplace.
Access to SLTs was highlighted as key to improving personal function when applying for jobs and in the workplace,
consistent with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF, WHO, 2001). This
finding highlights the need for clinicians to include open and honest discussions, not only about the person’s goals
for therapy, but also goals for tasks or activities regarded as personally relevant and meaningful (Sønsterud, 2019). It
is important to note that the participants in the present study have collaborated with SLTs during at least one
previous phase of their lives. The findings of the present study may therefore not be representative of the experiences
of people who clutter in general. For comparison and/or confirmation of the findings, themes related to career choice
and work life should be explored further and include individuals who clutter who have not received any SLT. The
small sample is a limitation of the study, and further research with larger samples is needed.
5. Conclusions
Continued improvement of general awareness and knowledge about cluttering is important. Results indicate that
awareness and knowledge about cluttering are important environmental conditions for employment and workplace
success for people who clutter, and that access to SLTs is also valuable in achievement of these goals.
Acknowledgements
The project has been made possible by Dam Foundation, the Norwegian Extra Foundation for Health and
Rehabilitation.
Disclosures
Financial: The second author received funding from Dam Foundation for the support of this study. The first author
received a small salary support, as well as support for the costs related to the conference in Montreal. No other
relevant financial relationships exist.
Nonfinancial: No relevant nonfinancial relationships exist.
References
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Appendix. Examples of statements representing the five main themes.
*Participant codes (PWC=Person who clutters)
Cluttering can cause a person
to be misunderstood and
misinterpreted
Increased knowledge about
cluttering can make life easier
Equal opportunities for
employment and in the
workplace are key
Openness about cluttering has
a positive impact
Having access to speech-
language therapy is of great
value
“I’m an intellectual, but from the
way I speak, I can sound
childish, or I talk in a way that
may not always correspond to
how I am.” (PWC-3)*
“If you can’t express yourself
properly, it can destroy the
organization's brand – and make
you undesirable for high-profile
roles.” (PWC-1)
"Then I might sound a little silly,
because I can't explain the
technical terms to them
correctly.” (PWC-2)
“When I clutter, I find that others
think I'm stressed, but that's not
really the case. When I start
talking a little too fast, I often
hear ‘oh, are you stressed now?’.
But I'm not stressed at all! So, it
doesn't give a proper picture of
how I feel.” (PWC-5)
“If everyone at work knew what
cluttering was, it would make it
easier for them to understand
why I sometimes disappear ‘into
the wings’.” (PWC-6)
“So, the speech therapist
explained to everyone what
cluttering was, and it turned out
to be the best school year ever. It
was incredibly good that
everyone knew.” (PWC-2)
“We as persons with cluttering
are not considered equal.
Cluttering is one thing. It's not
all of me!” (PWC-1)
“In the employment process I
think you should be on an equal
footing with the rest.” (PWC-4)
“It doesn’t take much to
facilitate someone with
cluttering in the workplace, other
than trust and security in the
working environment.” (PWC-5)
“No facilitation or special
support should be offered. You
must deliver, perform, at work!”
(PWC-1)
“So, information is the key word,
really. More than facilitation.”
(PWC-4)
“Openness is the solution. I have
informed everyone where I work
that I have cluttering and what it
entails, and it has paid off very
well.” (PWC-4)*
“Transparency is best. And then
to go outside the comfort zone,
and just try.” (PWC-2)
“It wasn't until last year that I
started being open about my
cluttering at work. After I ‘let the
cat out of the bag’, I don't have
to think about hiding it, and it's
just been so nice and such a
relief.” (PWC-5)
“Finding out I had a clutter
explained a lot. It wasn't just that
I'm insecure or shy, but that I
actually had something that
makes it a little difficult to talk.
Then I could explain it to my
family and friends, and the
teachers at the school, so they all
knew what it was.” (PWC-2)
“Primary school should catch
children with speech difficulties
– not just the fact that the child
can’t say ‘r’. Adults should
realize this is something this boy
will struggle with for the rest of
his life if he doesn't get help
early.” (PWC-1)
“The speech therapist can put
into words the things I’ve been
struggling with. Going to a
speech therapist has helped me a
lot in terms of not being so
affected by comments in the
workplace.” (PWC-5)
“Already in early youth I would
have invested time in increasing
my awareness, to be able to
speak properly as an adult.”
(PWC-1)
“Speech therapist treatment has
made me more aware of what
cluttering is, and I consciously
try to use speech training
techniques in my everyday
work.” (PWC-7)
