Teleworkers with disabilities: characteristics and accommodation use.

Area of Science:

• Disability Studies
• Employment Research
• Human Resources

Background:

• Telework adoption is lower among individuals with disabilities compared to the general population.
• Despite potential benefits, telework is underutilized by disabled workers.
• Understanding accommodation use is crucial for inclusive employment.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate employment patterns of people with disabilities.
• Examine relationships between functional abilities, work location, and accommodation use.
• Analyze the role of telework as a job accommodation.

Main Methods:

• National cross-sectional survey of 373 employed individuals with disabilities.
• Data collected electronically.
• Chi-square analysis used to compare accommodation use details.

Main Results:

• White-collar and knowledge workers were twice as likely to telework.
• Teleworkers were twice as likely to use flexible scheduling.
• Only 47% of teleworkers identified it as a job accommodation, with 57% satisfied and 76% finding it important for task completion.

Conclusions:

• Flexible scheduling is frequently used by teleworkers, indicating telework's primary benefit is reducing pain and fatigue barriers.
• Low telework satisfaction suggests additional employment-related challenges persist.
• Further research needed to address barriers and improve telework effectiveness for disabled individuals.