Employer Retention Profiles of Workers with Physical Disabilities

Area of Science:

• Workforce inclusion and disability management.
• Organizational psychology and human resources.

Background:

• Effective retention of employees with physical disabilities is crucial for workforce diversity and productivity.
• Understanding employer perspectives on facilitators and challenges is key to developing targeted support strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct employer subgroups based on their perceptions of facilitators and challenges in retaining workers with physical disabilities.
• To compare company characteristics, disability support practices, and job accommodation provision across these identified employer subgroups.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 2,000 employers in the United States.
• Latent profile analysis was used to identify employer subgroups among 1,641 employers who hired individuals with physical disabilities.
• Independent t tests and chi-square/Fisher's exact tests compared characteristics between subgroups.

Main Results:

• Two employer subgroups were identified: 'high facilitator' (n=360) and 'high challenge' (n=1,281).
• The 'high facilitator' group, often smaller service-providing companies led by CEOs/owners, reported more facilitators than challenges.
• This group also showed higher rates of hiring individuals with disabilities, implemented more disability supports, and provided more job accommodations.

Conclusions:

• Employers can improve retention of workers with physical disabilities by fostering facilitators and mitigating challenges.
• Strengthening disability-related supports, practices, and job accommodations is essential for inclusive workplaces.
• Further research is needed to validate these findings and create targeted interventions for employer support.