Expanding the consumer-directed workforce by attracting and retaining unaffiliated workers

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Labor Economics
• Social Policy

Background:

• Directly hired personal assistance workers, unaffiliated with agencies, are crucial in consumer-directed care.
• Understanding their working conditions is vital for program effectiveness and worker well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the working conditions of unaffiliated personal assistance workers with agency-based and other directly hired peers.
• To analyze factors influencing the recruitment and retention of unaffiliated workers in consumer-directed settings.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of working conditions, wages, and job satisfaction.
• Examination of data from consumer-directed personal assistance programs.

Main Results:

• Unaffiliated workers reported higher wages compared to their peers.
• Despite higher earnings, unaffiliated workers expressed lower satisfaction with wages and benefits than other directly hired workers.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights a paradox of higher pay but lower satisfaction among unaffiliated workers.
• Implications for consumer-directed programs focus on optimizing recruitment, retention, and overall worker and consumer experiences.