Abstract
People living with disabilities represent a considerable segment of the labor market. Yet, many face obstacles to finding and sustaining employment. The work experiences of people living with disabilities can be viewed within the context of a life course perspective to highlight the unique challenges and opportunities that can exist during different periods of a person’s working life. This chapter examines key barriers and facilitators to employment faced by people with disabilities across the working life course, including the school-to-work transition, advancement within the middle career stages, and preparation to exit the working world at later career phases. Drawing from a biopsychosocial model of disability, the chapter also focuses on the role of the work environment in shaping the employment of people with disabilities and describes the experience of communicating health needs and accessing supports across different life and career phases. This chapter discusses how the constantly evolving nature of work can impact the work environment to which people with disabilities are exposed and describes emerging obstacles to employment participation. Our chapter ends by highlighting important directions for research and practice.
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Jetha, A., Gignac, M.A.M. (2023). Changing Experiences, Needs, and Supports Across the Life Course for Workers Living with Disabilities. In: Wahrendorf, M., Chandola, T., Descatha, A. (eds) Handbook of Life Course Occupational Health. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30492-7_24
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