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What Types of Jobs Do People with Disabilities Want?

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Abstract

Introduction Do non-employed people with disabilities want to work, and if so, what types of jobs do they want? Researchers seeking to explain the low employment rate among people with disabilities have focused primarily on skill gaps, employment disincentives from disability income, accommodation mandates, and (to a lesser extent) employer attitudes and unwelcoming corporate cultures. There has been little attention paid to the attitudes of non-employed people with disabilities. Methods This paper uses the 2006 General Social Survey, a representative national survey of US adults that has disability information and a special supplement on worker preferences, to examine the above question. Results We find that, relative to their non-disabled counterparts, non-employed people with disabilities are (a) as likely to want a job but less likely to be actively searching, (b) as likely to have prior job experience, and (c) similar in their views of the importance of income, job security, and other valued job characteristics. The results, which vary little by type of impairment, indicate that the low employment rate of people with disabilities is not due to their reluctance to work or different job preferences. Conclusion Combined with evidence that a large share of new jobs can be performed by people with disabilities, the findings point toward the value of dismantling barriers to employment facing many people with disabilities.

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Notes

  1. http://www.gss.norc.org/.

  2. Calculated from [39] using estimates for the 21–64, 65–74, and 75 or older age categories.

  3. www.issp.org.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Douglas Kruse for useful comments and advice. Funding for the disability module for the 2006 General Social Survey was provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Grant No. H133B980042-99, and the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. In addition, the program of research described herein is supported in part by grants to Dr. Blanck and BBI from: (a) The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education, for (i) “The Asset Accumulation and Economic Self-Sufficiency Project,” Grant No. H133A090014; (ii) “Demand Side Employment Placement Models,” Grant No. H133A060033; (iii) “Southeast Disability & Business Technical Assistance Center,” Grant No. H133A060094; and (iv) “Center on Effective Delivery of Rehabilitation Technology by Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies,” Grant No. H133A090004; (b) The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) for “Technical Assistance and Continuing Education (TACE) Center Region IV (Southeast TACE),” Grant No. H264A080021, and (c) the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for “New York’s Comprehensive Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG),” Grant #1QACMS030318.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management & Labor Relations, Rutgers University, 94 Rockafeller Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Mohammad Ali

  2. School of Management & Labor Relations, Rutgers University, 50 Labor Center Way, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Lisa Schur

  3. Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University, 900 Crouse Avenue, Crouse-Hinds Hall, Suite 300, Syracuse, NY, 13244-2130, USA

    Peter Blanck

Authors
  1. Mohammad Ali
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  2. Lisa Schur
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  3. Peter Blanck
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Ali.

Appendix: Question Wordings

Appendix: Question Wordings

Disability Questions

Any disability: Yes to question 1 or 2 below, or to two or more of questions 3–7

Do you have

  1. 1.

    a hearing problem that prevents you from hearing what is said in normal conversation even with a hearing aid?

  2. 2.

    a vision problem that prevents you from reading a newspaper even when wearing glasses or contacts?

  3. 3.

    any condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying?

  4. 4.

    Any other physical disability?

  5. 5.

    Any emotional or mental disability?

Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition lasting 3 months or longer, do you have difficulty doing any of the following

  1. 6.

    Learning, remembering or concentrating?

  2. 7.

    Participating fully in school, housework, or other daily activities?

Hearing impairment: yes to question 1 above

Visual impairment: yes to question 2 above

Mobility impairment: yes to question 3 above

Mental impairment: yes to question 5 above

Prior Employment and Recent Training

Ever had job for 1 year or more: Have you ever had a paid job for 1 year or more? (1 = yes, 0 = no)

When last paid job ended: When did your last paid job end?

Main reason job ended: What was the main reason that your job ended?

  • I reached retirement age

  • I retired early, by choice

  • I retired early, not by choice

  • I became (permanently) disabled

  • My place of work shut down

  • I was dismissed

  • My term of employment/contract ended

  • Family responsibilities

  • I got married

Had training to improve job skills in past 12 months.: Over the past 12 months, have you had any training to improve your job skills? (1 = yes, 0 = no)

Desire and Search for Jobs

Would like paid job now or in future: Would you like to have a paid job, either now or in the future? (1 = yes, 0 = no)

Would prefer to spend much more time in paid work: Suppose you could change the way you spend your time, spending more time on some things and less time on others. Which of the following things would you like to spend more time on, which would you like to spend less time on and which would you like to spend the same amount of time on as now? Time in a paid job (1 = much more time, 5 = much less time)

“Very likely” to get job: How likely do you think it is that you would find a job? (1 = very unlikely, 4 = very unlikely)

Searching for job: Are you currently looking for a job (1 = yes, 0 = no)

Actions to find job in past 12 months.: Thinking about the last 12 months, have you done any of the following in order to find a job?

  1. a.

    Registered at a public unemployment agency?

  2. b.

    Registered at a private employment agency?

  3. c.

    Answered advertisements for jobs?

  4. d.

    Advertised for a job in newspaper or journals?

  5. e.

    Applied directly to employers?

  6. f.

    Asked relatives, friends, or colleagues to help you find a job?

Job Preference Questions

Job is just way of earning money: For each of the following statements please tell me how much you agree or disagree with it, thinking of work in general. A job is just a way of earning money—no more (1-strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree)

Would enjoy job even if not paid: For each of the following statements please tell me how much you agree or disagree with it, thinking of work in general. I would enjoy having a paid job even if I did not need the money (1-strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree)

Job security: For each of the following, please tell me how important you personally think it is in a job. How important is: Job security (1 = not important at all, 5 = very important)

High income: For each of the following, please tell me how important you personally think it is in a job. How important is: High income (1 = not important at all, 5 = very important)

Opportunities for advancement: For each of the following, please tell me how important you personally think it is in a job. How important is: Good opportunities for advancement (1 = not important at all, 5 = very important)

Interesting job: For each of the following, please tell me how important you personally think it is in a job. How important is: An interesting job (1 = not important at all, 5 = very important)

Working independently: For each of the following, please tell me how important you personally think it is in a job. How important is: A job that allows someone to work independently (1 = not important at all, 5 = very important)

Helping others in job: For each of the following, please tell me how important you personally think it is in a job. How important is: A job that allows someone to help other people (1 = not important at all, 5 = very important)

Useful to society: For each of the following, please tell me how important you personally think it is in a job. How important is: A job that is useful to society (1 = not important at all, 5 = very important)

Flexible hours: For each of the following, please tell me how important you personally think it is in a job. How important is: A job that allows someone to decide their times or days of work (1 = not important at all, 5 = very important)

Prefer being employee to self-employed: Suppose you were working and could choose between different kinds of jobs. Which of the following would you personally choose? Would you choose: being an employee, or being self-employed?

Prefer small firm to large firm: Suppose you were working and could choose between different kinds of jobs. Which of the following would you personally choose? Would you choose: working in a small firm, or working in a large firm?

Prefer private business to govt. job: Suppose you were working and could choose between different kinds of jobs. Which of the following would you personally choose? Would you choose: working in a private business, or working for the government or civil service?

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Ali, M., Schur, L. & Blanck, P. What Types of Jobs Do People with Disabilities Want?. J Occup Rehabil 21, 199–210 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-010-9266-0

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