Job Characteristics and Job Retention of Young Workers With Disabilities

Carrie Shandra , Stony Brook University, State University of New York (SUNY)

People with disabilities experience lower labor force participation than people without disabilities in the US. Despite the focus on work promotion among this population, less is known about factors increasing job retention. This study utilizes longitudinal employment histories from NLSY97 to evaluate: How job characteristics differ by adolescent disability status, what job characteristics associate with the hazard of separation, and if the characteristics associated with the hazard of separation differ by adolescent disability status. Young workers with adolescent disabilities have a higher baseline hazard of separation than workers without disabilities. These results persist for involuntary separations (serious disability) and voluntary health-related separations (mild or serious disability), net of job characteristics. Employment benefits—medical, scheduling, leave, retirement—negatively associate with the hazard of separation for workers with disabilities. However, these effects persist for all workers, whereas job satisfaction, job sector, and work hours further condition the hazard of separation among workers with disabilities.

See paper

 Presented in Session 8. Economy, Labor Force, Education, & Inequality