A Study on the Factors Affecting Job Retention, Job Termination and Job Satisfaction of the Employed Person with

Intellectual Disability

Research Proposal for Ph.D. In Special Education

Kavita

Under the Guidance of Dr.A.T.Thressiakutty

RAMAKRISHNA MISSION VIVEKANANDA UNIVERSITY Faculty of Disability Management and Special Education at IHRDC Campus, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya Coimbatore-641020

A Study on the Factors Affecting Job Retention, Job Termination and Job Satisfaction of the Employed Person with Intellectual Disability
Introduction: The primary objective of the field of vocational rehabilitation is employment. A person with a disability is to be included in the world of work as an equal to any other citizen and to possess all the privileges that come with employment, including becoming a taxpayer. It is believed that this will greatly enhance an individual's quality of life. Despite all the efforts to increase the employment of people with disabilities in the past 15 years, the unacceptable fact is that the majority of the people with disabilities of working age are still unemployed (L. Harris & Associates, 2000). The employers' perspective as to why people with disabilities are not employed is probably quite different than rehabilitation professionals would expect. Businesses rarely admit the real reasons that keep them from hiring people with disabilities. An estimated 386 million of the world's working-age people have some kind of disability, says the International Labour Organization (ILO). Unemployment among the persons with disabilities is as high as 80 per cent in some countries. Often employers assume that persons with disabilities are unable to work. A 2004 United States survey found that only 35 per cent of working-age persons with disabilities are in fact working compared to 78 per cent of those without disabilities. Two-thirds of the unemployed respondents with disabilities said they would like to work but could not find jobs. A 2003 study by Rutgers University found that people with physical and mental disabilities continue to be vastly underrepresented in the U.S. workplace. Thousands of persons with disabilities have been successful as small business owners, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The 1990 national census revealed that persons with disabilities have a higher rate of self-employment and small business experience (12.2 per cent) than persons without disabilities (7.8 per cent). Even though persons with disabilities constitute a significant 5 to 6 per cent of India's population, their employment needs remain unmet, says a study by India's National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, in spite of the "People with Disabilities" Act, which reserves for them 3 per cent of government jobs. Of the some 70

million persons with disabilities in India, only about 100,000 have succeeded in obtaining employment in industry.

Statement of the Problem: The title of the proposal is A Study on the Factors Affecting Job Retention, Job Termination and Job Satisfaction of the Employed Person with Intellectual Disability Work is an essential part in the life of a person because it gives him status and binds him to the society. Disabled persons at work can be viewed as societys acceptance of these persons without discrimination. A person with a disability is to be included in the world of work as an equal to any other citizen and to possess all the privileges that come with employment, including becoming a taxpayer. It is believed that this will greatly enhance an individual's quality of life. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was signed into law more than a decade ago, yet the unemployment rate for people with significant disabilities and MR has remained virtually unchanged (U.S. Department of Census, 2000). However, many people with disabilities are still unable to obtain work and are dependent on others. Just as normal adults work to earn their livelihood, persons with mental retardation also have the potential to work and earn if they are provided with the necessary training, placement and other supports.

In India such an in-depth study was not carried out to find the factors which affect job retention, termination and job satisfaction of the persons with intellectual disability. So the present study is entitled as A Study on the Factors Affecting Job Retention, Job Termination and Job Satisfaction of the Employed Person with Intellectual Disability Significance of the Study Businesses rarely admit the real reasons that keep them from hiring people with disabilities. If a survey were conducted of employers across this nation it would result in a myriad of reasons as to why businesses are reluctant to hire people with disabilities. Few factors can be studied responsible for the job satisfaction of the persons with

intellectual disability so that the rehabilitation professionals can get acknowledged and do some improvement in vocational training to the person with intellectual disability as well as the employers and families of the persons with intellectual disability will get facilitated with the idea regarding job continuation with adequate job satisfaction.

Operational Definitions: Intellectual Disability: "Intellectual Disability is a disability characterized by significant

limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before the age of 18." American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, AAIDD, 2008) In this study the persons with intellectual disability refers to employed persons belonging to the group of mild and moderate based on a standardized intelligence test. Factors: Refers to the reasons related to employee, employer, coworkers and family which influence retention, termination and satisfaction of employed persons with intellectual disability in open/sheltered/supported employment. Job Retention of Employment: Refers to the status of employed persons with intellectual disability for a period of two years and above, and continuing on job with remuneration in open/sheltered/supported employment. Job Termination of Employment: Refers to the status of employed persons with intellectual disability lost/discontinued/ terminated from a job after a minimum period of six months' placement in open/sheltered/supported employment. Job satisfaction: The degree to which the employees and family members are satisfied based on the aspects identified. It will be measured on a validated scale. Objectives of the Study:
1.

To study the employee related factors affecting job retention, job termination and

job
2.

satisfaction

of

employed

persons

with

intellectual

disability

in

open/sheltered/supported employment.

To study the employer related factors affecting job retention, job termination and satisfaction of employed persons with intellectual disability
in

job
3.

open/sheltered/supported employment.

To study the co-workers related factors affecting job retention, job termination job satisfaction of the person with intellectual disability
in

and
4.

open/sheltered/supported employment.

To study the family related factors affecting job retention, job termination and job of employed persons with intellectual disability
in

satisfaction

open/sheltered/supported employment.

Research Questions: On the basis of the objectives of the study the following research questions are formulated:
1.

What are the employees related factors affecting the job retention, job

termination and job satisfaction of the employed persons with intellectual disability in
open/sheltered/supported employment? 2.

What are the employers related factors affecting the job retention, job

termination and job satisfaction of the employed persons with intellectual disability in
open/sheltered/supported employment? 3.

What are the co-workers related factors affecting the job retention, job

termination and job satisfaction of the employed persons with intellectual disability in
open/sheltered/supported employment? 4.

What are the family related factors affecting the job retention, job termination

and job satisfaction of the employed persons with intellectual disability in

open/sheltered/supported employment ?

Method Research design: This is going to be a survey study .Through questionnaire and Interviews data will be collected, analyzed and interpreted

Sample: The sample of the present study will be:

50 employed persons with ID continuing on a remunerative job for more than 2 50 persons with disability worked for a period of minimum 6 months period and

years in open/sheltered/supported employment. discontinued / terminated from open/sheltered/supported employment. The employers and family members of 50 employed persons with mild and moderate intellectual disability working for 2 years and continuing on the job in open/sheltered/supported employment. The employers and family members of 50 persons with mild and moderate intellectual worked at least for 6 months and discontinued / lost the job in disability

open/sheltered/supported employment. Coworkers of persons with intellectual disability in open/sheltered/supported employment. Inclusion criteria Age: above 20 years Intellectual level: Mild and moderate Experience in Employment: 2 years and above for those retaining jobs 6 months experience for those who discontinued/terminated from the jobs in open/sheltered/supported employment Tools: questionnaires will be developed by the researcher based on the factors to be studied and will be validated for the purpose. Procedure: Institutions or work places (restaurants, schools, tailoring shop, carpenter shop, candle making industries, shopping malls.) at Bangalore and Hyderabad will be identified List of employed and terminated persons with ID will be prepared Their family members and employers will be contacted Data will be collected using questionnaire Coworkers of employed persons with ID also will be identified for data collection Delimitations: The application of the study will be limited to the area of ID only and the study will be

utilized to the city of Bangalore and Hyderabad. Data Analysis: Collected data will be analyzed selecting appropriate statistical methods. Delimitations: The application of the study will be limited to the area of ID only and the study will be restricted to the city of Bangalore and Hyderabad.

References: Drew,D.,Charles,E.D.,Ormer,A.V.,Losardo,M.,Crebs,C.,Penk,W.,& Vocational Rehabilitation, Psychiatric Services 52 (11). Peck, B. & Kirkbride, L.T., (2001), Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 16, pp 71-75 http:/WWW.un.org/disabilities/ Disabilities., April 30,2011 Harris & Associates., (2000), Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities, A Survey Conducted for the National Organization of Disabilities http:/www.jan.wvu.edu/media/Stats/Ben Costs0799.html, July 30, 1999 Accommodation Benefit cost Data, Job Accommodation Network http://janweb.iedi.wvu.edu/13March2000, Discover the facts about job accommodation, Job Accommodation Network. http:// www.worbsup port.com/Main downloads/ Chapter.Pdf, Personal directed guide, October, 2008. (default.asp?id=18), Factsheet on Persons With Rosemheck,R.A. (2001).Effect of Disability Compensation on Participation in and Outcomes of

Hebeek, R, Kregel, J., Head, C., & Yasuda S.(2007). Salient and Subtle aspects of demand side approaches for employment retention: Lessons for Policy makers, Jr of Rehabilitation.6, .21-27