Psychosocial themes in durable employment transitions

Loss of work capacity through illness or injury may result in loss of employment. The transition to durable employment with those reduced capacities poses many challenges. This paper is based on phenomenological research into the experiences of 13 people who had a disabling injury or chronic illness. These participants lost their capacity for their former employment. After a period of time, extending up to 14 years, the participants successfully changed employment in the open labor market, and retained their current employment for 13 weeks or longer. Data from in excess of 30 hours of in-depth semi-structured individual interviews and a focus group were transcribed and analyzed inductively. Analysis was aided by immersion in the data, reflections on entries in a researcher's log, and a computer program for analyzing textual data. Eleven psychosocial themes emerged. These themes were: pain, intense emotions, determination, financial concerns, role models, concealment, assistance, control, self-concept, satisfaction with employment, and personal change. Each theme is presented with representative text from participants and implications for work rehabilitation professionals. Further research to identify the extent of transferability of the findings is recommended.