Job Crafting Among American Workers with Disabilities.
Debra L Brucker, Vidya Sundar
PMID 32285354WHAT IT FOUND
Workers with disabilities reported lower rates of job crafting than the general population, particularly in social and task domains.
However, those with higher education or adult-onset disabilities showed specific patterns of engagement, suggesting tailored strategies are needed to support workplace adaptation.
Key findings
01Workers with disabilities scored significantly lower than the general population on most measures of task, relational, and cognitive job crafting.
02Higher educational attainment was associated with increased odds of engaging in job crafting behaviors, with college graduates showing the strongest association.
03Workers with mobility limitations had significantly lower odds of participating in several types of job crafting compared to those with other disabilities.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study did not include a direct comparison group of workers without disabilities; instead, it compared survey results to a previously published general population sample, which may introduce bias due to different sampling methods. The sample over-represented workers with cognitive limitations, which may skew the findings regarding the types of disabilities most affected. The survey did not collect detailed information about employment contexts (e.g., job type, autonomy, pay), so it is unclear if lower crafting is due to personal factors or restrictive workplace structures. Disability severity was not measured, so the analysis could not determine if more severe disabilities correlate with lower job crafting.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lower job crafting scores as a lack of motivation or skill among workers with disabilities. The study highlights that workplace barriers and lack of opportunity, rather than personal deficits, likely drive these differences, especially for those with mobility limitations or lower educational attainment.