Telework After COVID: A "Silver Lining" for Workers with Disabilities?
Lisa A Schur, Mason Ameri, Douglas Kruse
PMID 33156435WHAT IT FOUND
Workers with disabilities are more likely to work from home, but they face larger wage gaps in those roles.
Telework expands job access for this group but does not close the pay disparity, suggesting employers must address compensation separately.
Key findings
01Workers with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities to work primarily from home.
02The disability wage gap is slightly larger among home-based workers than among non-home-based workers.
03Workers with disabilities are less likely to hold jobs that have high potential for being done entirely at home.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The data is pre-pandemic (up to 2019), so it may not fully reflect the post-COVID normalization of telework. The study cannot distinguish between congenital and acquired disabilities, nor does it account for the time of onset. The American Time Use Survey data has a lag between disability measurement and work activity measurement, reducing reliability. The analysis relies on self-reported disability status and work location, which may introduce reporting bias.
Declared interests
Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that telework is a universal solution for employment barriers in patients with disabilities. This study shows that workers with disabilities are less likely to be in jobs that can be done remotely, and those who are teleworking still face a larger wage gap than their non-disabled counterparts.