Vocational adjustment after laryngectomy

The vocational adjustment of 130 persons after laryngectomy was examined by a semistructured questionnaire which elicited responses on 26 measures including vocational plans, work values, remotivation to work, realism, rehabilitation outlook and speech characteristics. Responses were coded according to the Goldberg Scale of Vocational Development with reliabilities ranging between 0.80 and 0.99. Prior to laryngectomy, 30 persons were unemployed or retired, and 100 persons were employed. After laryngectomy, of the 100 employed persons, 51 remained employed, 31 retired, and 18 were too disabled to work. Higher work values, higher remotivation, greater realism, optimistic rehabilitation outlook, previous employment and previous social involvement correlated positively with employment after laryngectomy (p less than 0.05). The continued employment of 50% of laryngectomees compares favorably with that reported in other studies. Persons who developed the basic ability to cope realistically with their disability had the best chance of continuing employment. Persons with an optimistic outlook about the future course of their disease were more likely to return to employment. This group constitutes a productive clientele for vocational rehabilitation.