Hiring Ex-Offenders: An Application of Theory of Planned Behaviour

Abstract

Ex-offenders released from incarceration experience difficulties securing accommodation, finding stable work, and connecting with families. Although ex-offenders have numerous noteworthy problems, ensuring gainful employment has always been inferred as the most difficult challenge. Many offenders who attempt to acclimate themselves to the society demonstrated gaps in their work history, limited skill sets, and incomplete education. This study deploys the Theory of Planned Behaviour and literature reviews to conceptualise the factors that impact employers' intention to hire ex-offenders. Specifically paying attention to employers who are hiring and have hired ex-offenders to work in their companies or organisations, the study proposes a hiring intention research model.

Changing public attitudes toward the employment of formerly incarcerated people: The role of “human resources social advocacy”

“…HR managers today tend to behave as Uggen (1999) predicted: they actively screen out formerly incarcerated people from candidate pools, with most of these applicants subjected to prejudice and discrimination in recruitment and selection processes (Burt, 2014; Khasni et al., 2021). So severe is the situation that, while employment discrimination is prohibited for individuals with legally protected characteristics, formerly incarcerated people are subject to openly discriminatory employment practices (Delgado, 2012; Jacobs, 2015), with many employers making pre‐emptive strikes against them, noting in their job advertisements that “ex‐offenders” are not welcome to apply (Natividad Rodriguez & Emsellem, 2011; Rade et al., 2016).…”

Exploring the Perceptions of Malaysian Employers Towards Hiring Ex-Offenders.

“…Past studies on hiring ex-offenders are either too general or based on quantitative methods and analysis. The Malaysian study by Khasni et al (2021) was a quantitative study based on an application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. This research is a qualitative study that can provide more in-depth and richer data.…”