Employment predictors of exit from work among workers with disabilities: A survival analysis from the household income labour dynamics in Australia survey

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 12; p. e0208334
• Main Authors: Milner, Allison, Taouk, Yamna, Disney, George, Aitken, Zoe, Rachele, Jerome, Kavanagh, Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 07.12.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Americans with Disabilities Act 1990-US; Analysis; Australia; Bullying; Correlation analysis; Demographics; Disabilities; Disability; Disabled Persons - statistics & numerical data; Employment; Employment - statistics & numerical data; Family income; Female; Health aspects; Households; Humans; Income; Injuries; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Likelihood ratio; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental health; Middle Aged; Occupational health; People and Places; Personal income; Population; Proportional Hazards Models; Regression analysis; Regression models; Social Sciences; Survival Analysis; Trauma; Unemployment; Workers; Young Adult; Australia; Victoria Australia
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208334

Across high-income countries, unemployment rates among workers with disabilities are disproportionately high. The aim of this study was to identify characteristics of employment associated with dropping out of work and assess whether these were different for workers with versus without disabilities. Using a longitudinal panel study of working Australians (2001 to 2015), the current study estimated Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard regression models to identify predictors of leaving employment, including psychosocial job quality, employment arrangement, and occupational skill level. Effect modification by disability status of the relationship between employment-related factors and exit from the labour market were assessed by including interaction terms and assessing model fit with a likelihood ratio test. Models were adjusted for a range of socio-demographic and health related factors. Compared to those without disability, those with disability had a greater risk of leaving employment (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.35, p<0.001). Other predictors of exit from work included low-skilled occupation (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.29, p = 0.001), being in a job with low psychosocial job quality (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.19, p = 0.007), and casual, labour hire or fixed-term contract employment (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.48 to 1.69, p<0.001). There was no effect modification by disability status. More research is needed to understand the experiences of workers with disabilities who stay in and leave employment.