Abstract: BACKGROUND: The prevalence of telework among people with
disabilities is not as great as the general population, despite the
accommodative benefits of telework. OBJECTIVE: This study of employment and accommodation use patterns
of people with disabilities investigates relationships between functional
abilities, work location and nature, and accommodation use. PARTICIPANTS: Currently employed subjects with disabilities were
recruited from client lists of research, technical assistance, and service
provision centers, as well as through over 100 social networking venues focused
on individuals with disabilities. METHODS: A national, cross-sectional survey was administered
electronically. Details of accommodation use for 373 individuals were compared
using Chi-Square distribution analysis. RESULTS: Those in white-collar and knowledge-based jobs were twice
as likely to telework as other worker types, and teleworkers were twice as
likely to use flexible scheduling. Only 47% of teleworkers reported telework as
a job accommodation. Of those, 57% were satisfied with telework and 76%
reported it as important to job task completion. CONCLUSIONS: Increased use of flexible scheduling, particularly
among those who view telework as an accommodation, suggests the primary
accommodative benefit of telework is to reduce pain and fatigue-related
barriers to traditional employment. Relatively low satisfaction with telework
suggests that it presents other employment-related barriers.
Keywords: Employment, workplace accommodations, remote work, work environment, assistive technology
