Temporary Work, Underemployment and Workplace Accommodations: Relationship to Well‐being for Workers with Disabilities
| Author | Katherine Breward,Alison M. Konrad,Eddy S. W. Ng,Alison J. Doherty,Mark E. Moore |
| Date | 01 September 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2011.00809.x |
| Published date | 01 September 2013 |
Temporary Work, Underemployment and
Workplace Accommodations: Relationship
to Well-being for Workers with Disabilities
Alison M. Konrad,1Mark E. Moore,2Eddy S. W. Ng,3
Alison J. Doherty4and Katherine Breward1
1University of Western Ontario, Richard Ivey School of Business, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 3K7, 2East
Carolina State University, Department of Kinesiology, 150 Minges Coliseum, Greenville, NC 27858, USA,
3Dalhousie University, Faculty of Management, 6100 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H
4R2, and 4School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London,
Ontario, Canada N6A 5B9
Corresponding author email: akonrad@ivey.uwo.ca
This study examines whether employment status and workplace accommodations are
associated with perceived well-being among workers with disabilities. Data from the
2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey conducted by Statistics Canada were
used to test the relationship between employment status, receipt of workplace accom-
modations and well-being. Findings indicated that fully utilized permanent employees
showed greater life satisfaction and less perceived disability-related discrimination than
either temporary workers or permanent workers who were underemployed. These find-
ings support the theory that inadequate employment is associated with deleterious effects
on employee well-being due to inferior need fulfilment and reduced social status. Work-
place accommodations were associated with higher levels of well-being for all workers
with disabilities and helped to mitigate the negative effects of temporary status
and underemployment. These findings supported the theoretical extension of main effect
and buffering models of workplace stress to the prediction of perceived workplace
discrimination.
Introduction
Workers with disabilities experience a dispropor-
tionately high level of job insecurity, underem-
ployment and unemployment compared with
workers without disabilities, but very little
research has examined the impact of these factors
on well-being for this group of workers. Among
employed workers, individuals with disabilities
are more likely to experience job insecurity
(Cunningham, James and Dibben, 2004; Kaye,
2009; Schur et al., 2009) and to be in temporary
jobs. People with disabilities tend to be employed
for fewer hours than peers without disabilities
(Bruyère, Erickson and VanLooy, 2000), and are
over-represented in entry-level and part-time jobs
(Kaye, 2009; Schur et al., 2009). Furthermore,
underemployment, where an individual’s skills
and education are underutilized (Feldman, Leana
and Bolino, 2002), is more prevalent among
workers with disabilities (Jones, 2007; Kaye,
2009).
Research on workers with disabilities has
focused on employment discrimination (Hum
and Simpson, 1996; Lengnick-Hall, Gaunt and
This research was supported by grant #625-02-13 from
the Canadian Studies Faculty Research Programs to the
second author. The first author gratefully acknowledges
support from the Corus Entertainment Chair in Women
in Management, Richard Ivey School of Business, and
from SSHRC Standard Research Grant No. 410-2007-
1673.
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British Journal of Management, Vol. 24, 367–382 (2013)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8551.2011.00809.x
© 2012 The Author(s)
British Journal of Management © 2012 British Academy of Management. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd,
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA, 02148, USA.
Kulkarni, 2008; Schur, 2002; Wooten and James,
2005), employer accommodations (Balser and
Harris, 2008; Campolieti, 2009; Crampton and
Hodge, 2003; Cunningham, James and Dibben,
2004; Williams-Whitt, 2007) and public policy
setting (Campolieti and Krashinsky, 2006;
Campolieti and Lavis, 2000). Studies examining
employment status, job insecurity and well-being
(e.g. De Cuyper and De Witte, 2006) have largely
ignored workers with disabilities, and questions
related to the impact of workplace accommoda-
tions on worker well-being remain unanswered
(Balser, 2007).
In this paper, we explore the effects of tempo-
rary work and underemployment on people with
physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities,
using data from the 2006 Participation and Activ-
ity Limitation Survey (PALS) data set (Statistics
Canada, 2008). Based on theories emphasizing
innate human needs, and theories focusing upon
socially constructed roles and status, we predict
that the extent to which people with disabilities
are able to fully engage in labour-force activity
will be positively associated with life satisfaction
and negatively associated with perceived discrimi-
nation. Based on models of stressors, strains and
coping, we conceptualize workplace accommoda-
tions as a valuable resource for workers with dis-
abilities with the potential to lessen the negative
effects of job insecurity and underemployment.
Much prior research has shown that underem-
ployment (Friedland and Price, 2003; McKee-
Ryan et al., 2009) and job insecurity (Frone, 2008;
Hellgren and Sverke, 2003; Mauno, Leskinen,
and Kinnunen, 2001) are associated with lower
levels of psychological and physiological well-
being. Dooley and his colleagues (Dooley, 2003;
Dooley and Prause, 2005; Grzywacz and Dooley,
2003) argue that unemployment, inadequate
employment and adequate employment should
be arranged on a continuum reflecting varying
degrees of worker health and well-being. Apply-
ing this framework to the experiences and out-
comes of workers with disabilities, we contribute
to extant knowledge regarding this understudied
population.
Theoretical background
Individuals with disabilities ‘have the same aspi-
rations as the rest of the population, including
meaningful work, decent housing, financial secu-
rity, friendships, health and a high quality of life’
(Bond and Campbell, 2008, p. 33). Theoretical
perspectives on innate human needs and socially
constructed statuses support the importance of
participation in paid employment for the well-
being of persons with disabilities.
Innate human needs
Classic theories, such as Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs theory, Alderfer’s ERG theory (Alderfer,
1972) and job characteristics theory (Hackman
and Oldham, 1976), assume that individuals strive
for survival, for positive relationships with other
people, and for personal growth and develop-
ment. More recently, the eudaimonic view of well-
being (Ryan and Deci, 2001) focused on the
importance of striving to realize one’s full poten-
tial, functioning fully and achieving mastery for
individuals to thrive and flourish. Unlike hedonic
models that focus only on achieving pleasure and
avoiding pain, ‘Eudaimonic theories maintain
that not all desires – not all outcomes that a
person might value – would yield well-being when
achieved. Even though they are pleasure produc-
ing, some outcomes are not good for people and
would not promote wellness’ (Ryan and Deci,
2001, pp. 145–146). In the eudaimonic view,
persons with disabilities will experience a higher
quality of life when they have opportunities to
fully develop their talents through education and
training as well as opportunities to exercise those
abilities to achieve a higher level of independence
and contribution to society.
Consistent with the eudaimonic view, self-
determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000)
identifies autonomy and competence as basic
psychological needs that must be fulfilled for psy-
chological growth, vitality and well-being. Self-
determination theory posits that activities are
intrinsically motivating if they are freely chosen
and allow the individual to build and demonstrate
competence and mastery. Furthermore, partici-
pation in intrinsically motivating activities is
thought to enhance life satisfaction and psycho-
logical health.
In summary, multiple theoretical streams posit
the importance of fulfilling innate human needs
for individual well-being. These theories imply
that paid employment can enhance well-being
for persons with disabilities to the extent that it
368 A. M. Konrad et al.
© 2012 The Author(s)
British Journal of Management © 2012 British Academy of Management.
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