Factors and key interactions influencing successful employment outcomes for people with disabilities

Abstract

Responding to the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, many countries are trying to improve economic and social participation for people with disabilities. Yet, workforce participation remains substantially lower for people with disabilities than for people without disabilities. Building on a recently developed model of factors that influence mainstream employment outcomes for people with disabilities, this study utilises the social model of disability to examine the perceived relative importance of each factor and the interactions between them. We conducted 47 semi‐structured interviews with people with disabilities, employers and disability employment services providers to identify eight factors that were most important in achieving successful employment outcomes: nature of the disability, disability disclosure, personal motivation, employer attitudes, job characteristics, corporate culture and climate, government support and societal attitudes. Eight interactions between the factors were also identified. Findings provide insights that can guide the implementation of structural changes to ensure better employment outcomes for people with disabilities.