Factors Impacting Employment Outcomes for Older Adults With Disabilities in Korea

Abstract

Although older adults with disabilities have a need and desire to be productive, for many this takes the form of work, they often face barriers in finding and maintaining employment. To improve understanding of employment characteristics and needs for older adults with disabilities in Korea, this study examined their employment rates (ER) from a life-span perspective. A dataset on individuals from age 41 to 75 ( N = 4,211) from the Panel Survey of Employment for the Disabled (PSED), collected by the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled (KEAD) from 2008 to 2015, was used. The study looked at whether ER were significantly different among age ranges of older adults with disabilities in Korea and also what factors predict their ER, using ANOVA (analysis of variance) and tobit regression. As a result, the study confirmed factors influencing employment with older adults with disabilities, including demographic factors, disability factors, health-related factors, and psychosocial factors, varied for different age groups. This implies that it is crucial to attend to the diverse needs of individuals with disabilities at various ages, and vocational rehabilitation services need to be customized for different age groups.

Employment preferences of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: An evaluation of gender and age differences

“…Individuals in the oldest age group were most unlikely to say that they like their current activities and that they did not think they would enjoy work. Previous research found that working individuals past retirement age believed their work to be important, did not want to retire, had a need for productivity, and benefitted from on‐the‐job social interactions (David et al, 2015; Halvorsen & Yulikova, 2020; Lee et al, 2020). However, they also reported experiences of ageism, which could explain our finding that older individuals were most likely to report that they did not want to work due to a belief that they would not join the experience.…”