People with intellectual disability and employment sustainability: A qualitative interview study.
Taubner Helena, Tideman Magnus, Staland-Nyman Carin
PMID 36129123WHAT IT FOUND
Employment sustainability for people with intellectual disability relied on varied work experiences, positive workplace relationships, balanced expectations, flexible employers, and wage subsidies.
Some remained employed only due to a lack of viable alternatives.
Key findings
01Five factors facilitated maintaining employment: trying various types of work, liking to be at work, balance concerning expectations and adaptations, mutual engagement and flexibility, and wage subsidies.
02Employers stated they would not be able to keep the employee without tax-financed wage subsidies.
03Some participants remained at their workplaces because they lacked alternatives and feared returning to sheltered work or daily activity services.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study relies on self-reported experiences from a small sample of 15 employees and 10 employers, limiting the generalisability of the themes. Employers were only recruited if their employee consented, which may have biased the sample toward workplaces with positive relationships. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have influenced the labour market and the participants' work situations. The authors note that quantitative data on factors like age, gender, and socioeconomic status were not collected, leaving some potential influences on employment sustainability unexplored.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that long-term employment indicates successful vocational outcomes. Some participants remained in jobs they disliked or where they were under-stimulated solely because they feared losing their position and having no other options.