How Physical Disability Affects Workers' Everyday Work Experience in Different Occupations? Findings from the National Administrative Data

Background and Purpose: It is well known that adults with disability are less likely than their nondisabled counterparts to be hired and work for a paid job. They experience stigmatization and discriminatory treatment in subjective aspects of work as well, including relationships with coworkers and supervisors and perceptions of inequitable treatment. However, it is unclear whether these processes of stigmatization and marginalization vary based on the requirements of one’s occupation. For individuals working in occupations that have a poor person-environment fit (e.g., a person with physical limitations working in a job with a high level of physical demands), levels of interpersonal discrimination in the workplace may be particularly high. In the present study, we aim to examine how physical disability affects the psychological dimensions of work and whether these patterns differ based on the skills required on the job.

Method: We use the linked dataset of the National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) and the 2012 Occupational Information Network (O*NET 17.0). O*NET is the nation’s primary occupational information source and provides structured codes to explain required/preferred skills, abilities, and other features of a certain occupation, defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Standard Occupational Classification. For the current study, we restrict our analytic sample to those who are employed at the time of interviews, aged 25 to 74, and have completed data for our variables of interest (n = 2,566). Four measures of occupational characteristics indicate the extent to which the physical, psychological, cognitive, and sensory abilities are needed to perform one’s current job. We use four workplace outcomes, including perceived job discrimination, unequal workplace opportunities, and levels of supervisor and coworker support. We estimate a series of regression models to examine the effects of disability and levels of work-related abilities, as well as their interaction, on subjective workplace experiences.

Results: We find that workers with physical disability fare significantly worse on all four outcomes net of covariates. Individuals who work for a job requiring higher-level cognitive and sensory abilities report fewer unequal opportunities and greater support from coworkers, while the levels of physical and psychological abilities are negatively associated with some workplace outcomes. Interactions of physical disability by occupational skills are not statistically significant in fully adjusted models, suggesting that physical disability takes a toll on workers’ subjective workplace experiences regardless of which levels of physical or other abilities are needed to perform their work responsibilities.

Conclusion and Implications: This study demonstrates how physical disability affects the everyday lives of workers based on the skills required on the job. Pervasive unequal treatment and less interpersonal support for disabled workers are observed across jobs requiring different levels of physical and other abilities. Workplace training programs on implicit biases and microaggressions as well as the proactive recruitment and promotion of persons with disability may help to reduce interpersonal and structural stigmatization. Social workers and other professionals should advocate for the workers’ rights and provide necessary resources to disabled workers across all fields and occupations.