Workplace accommodations for low-wage workers: A scoping review.
Randi McArthur, Jessica Williams, Shawn Kneipp
PMID 39973633WHAT IT FOUND
Low-wage workers with health conditions often lacked job adjustments.
Studies linked accommodations to staying employed, while low job control, unsupportive supervisors, and fear of stigma made them harder to get.
Key findings
01Only 14 studies met inclusion criteria, and the included studies measured either whether accommodations were received or employment outcomes such as absenteeism and presenteeism.
02Factors associated with low-wage work, such as less job control, lower job status, and irregular or part-time hours, were more consistently related to not receiving work accommodations.
03In the reviewed studies, workers who reported using work accommodations were more likely to remain employed and had decreased absenteeism.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 14 studies met inclusion criteria. Five studies explicitly focused on low-wage workers; the rest included low-wage workers among workers along a wage continuum. The review excluded grey literature, which may have broadened the scope and lessened publication bias. Included studies were heterogeneous in design, setting, population, and degree of low-wage focus. No studies were designed with health outcomes in mind. The search was limited to English-language peer-reviewed articles.
Declared interests
Funding was reported as support from the National Institute of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers 5T32NR007091-29 and 1F31NR021349-01. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the links between accommodations and job retention as proof that accommodations cause better health or employment. The review mapped 14 heterogeneous studies, and none were designed with health outcomes in mind.