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Research with Discouraged Job Seeker revealed a distinction between what is needed to get a job and what is needed to do a job successfully. To meet our goal of getting a clear picture of the process that participants went through to end up as Discouraged Job Seeker, we felt it was important to separate these two aspects. In this report, we therefore refer to the ‘getting a job’ process as Employment Recruitment, and ‘doing a job’ as Job Properties. Employment Support counselors can help a person change and improve their ability to be selected for a job. However Job Properties need to be addressed primarily with the employer. Examples of Job Properties include hours of work, salary, the workplace and all other components of a job once it one is secured. The majority of those whom we spoke to had left previous jobs due to their inability to manage within a given workplace or because they were under extreme emotional or physical stress in the job. The term barriers to employment evoked the idea of physical disabilities and adaptations to the workplace for many participants. These types of adaptations can range from the adoption of universal design principles[1] in the workplace to mitigating noise and other pollution from outside the workplace. In this report our understanding of physical barriers includes not only workplace design but also how work is physically done. In the early phase of research we had assumed that barriers to conducting work would be primarily physical in nature, e.g., a lack of accommodation for those with limited mobility, inaccessible washrooms, and poor ergonomics. When we spoke to the 23 participants who were involved in the in-depth interviews the topic of physical accommodations rarely came up. However, 58% of the participants indentified a problem with mobility, strength or both. The participants who did need technology to help them to become work ready had found funding for the devices or were in the processes of acquiring them. It is unclear as to why physical barriers were not more front-of-mind for participants, given the majority identifying physical challenges. Restrictions on physical activity were covered in our initial questionnaire prior to interviews, perhaps many participants considered the matter of physical barriers addressed through the questionnaire. It may also have been addressed by the fact that participants were for the large part not looking for physically demanding jobs, i.e., those that require a lot of strenuous activity like lifting, carrying boxes and so on. The types of jobs participants were interested in were often in environments that they were familiar with such as an office or a retail shop floor and therefore they may not have seen any need for major alterations to the work space.
In our interviews there were several features related to Job Properties that participants returned to often in discussing what limited them in succeeding while in a job. Summary of participants’ Job Properties barriers
DESCRIPTON OF JOB PROPERTIES BARRIERSWhile the need for physical accommodations in the work place was rarely mentioned, the manner in which the work was divided was cited frequently as a barrier by participants. Many participants talked about the ability to do part of a job but not the whole job. Job carving seeks to accommodate potential hires by allowing a person with a challenge or disability the opportunity to do the portion of the job they are capable of and reassigning what they cannot do. The inability to divide work into discrete tasks was a frequently-citied barrier. In particular this was mentioned by those who suffered from a limitation related to strenuous activity or an ability to move quickly. Emma, who had severe brain injury, expressed dismay over her inability to link her experience before her brain injury as a seamstress and a farm worker to some form of employment. Her feelings about her ability to do work were summed up as follows:
Emma had attempted several times to gain employment and in fact had been hired a number of times. However, once hired, the inability of the employer to reframe the job requirements to her abilities resulted in her being dismissed:
Ella, who had a serious mental illness, left her job at a financial institution due to her illness beginning to flare up after a successful initial few months. She had started out working in the back office of the bank where there were few stressors and little contact with customers. As she demonstrated increasing skill and motivation, she was placed in a frontline staff position. She recognized that this change was causing her stress and as a consequence her illness began impacting her ability to work. She sought out the only solution she was aware of, to quit her job. In talking to her we asked if she had considered asking to be returned to her earlier duties working in the back office:
Unfortunately she had not seen or been presented with that option prior to leaving her job. Some participants sought out training that would allow them entry into a position that they felt they would be able to do with their physical limitations. They believed these positions may have components of a job they wanted but not the parts they were unable to do. After years of providing personal care to an aging parent and failed attempts at getting jobs related to her university education Monica enrolled in the Personal Care Worker program at the Kingstec Nova Scotia Community College . Her physical limitations from fibromyalgia and a heart condition amongst other problems meant that she would be unable to do certain physical aspects of the job but she felt the PCW program gave her training in those things she could do. However in the midst of this training, she is finding there is an increased emphasis on strenuous physical work. This shift in emphasis has made her quite concerned about her future.
Leanne had been previously employed as an agricultural researcher who survived on different contracts over the years. However since 2008 she had been without a job. Her research jobs had two distinct components to them, lab work and field work. She has some physical deterioration due to aging and other health problems and as a consequence is limited in the amount of field work she can do.
For Leanne the fact that she could not do the field work component of her work left her at a disadvantage compared to those in better health. Generally, participants who identified that they were able to do a portion of many jobs, but were unable to fulfill the entire job description due to physical limitations felt frustrated. A participant’s intellectual and cognitive faculties may have been fine but they might have limited capabilities in strength, mobility or stamina. They knew they were able to do a portion of a job but also knew that those jobs, as currently offered, required other tasks to be done that they could not do or could not do without exceptional discomfort or pain. This level of frustration led many to refrain from searching for work in areas they were trained in but also more generally as they began to see only the barriers a job presented. After extended periods away from the labor market many participants were wary of re-entry. This was due to a number of reasons, such as, being unsure of how they would adjust to work given their challenge or disability, fear of failure, and a general sense of uncertainty of what they were capable of doing. Marg had been away from work for many years. Despite being hired for a job, she gave it up before she worked her first shift due to her fear of being unable to meet expectations.
Marg suggested that if she had been able to start off taking on a few hours at a time and gradually work up to the needs of the position (30+ hours a week) that she would have kept the job. Her fear stopped her from asking for this accommodation. She had assumed that a gradual increase in work hours was unlikely and consequently gave up an employment opportunity. A large number of participants were limited in their ability to walk, lift or complete other physical tasks. However it was not the focal point of conversation during most interviews. For many the barrier in how work tasks were communicated, when it was done and who they had to interact with were more daunting barriers than the physical challenges they faced. Stress came up repeatedly as a major concern and a deterrent to people looking for work. While nearly all participants indicated some restrictions related to physical ability an equal number identified the emotional stress related to work as a major barrier. Josh had lost several jobs in the fast food industry due to the stress he experiences from dealing with the public. Having an intellectual disability and depression meant he lacked many of the coping skills to deal with unpleasant social situations. He also saw working with the public in the fast food industry as an increasingly hostile environment.
Further in the interview Josh noted that he is unable to deal with stress the majority of the time and that the only type of work he sees as open to him (food service) due to his limited abilities means that he feels he is unlikely to maintain a job.
Hostility in the work place was suggested by many people. Rob had held a customer service job in the recent past and summed up the work like this:
For Rob customer service positions meant that you would take abuse from the public and management. He felt that he was not valued in these positions and as a consequence would not be treated well. Many participants had their lives turned upside down by their illnesses and disabilities, in particular those whose disability came about as the result of a traumatic experience. These participants had to arrange their lives around the restrictions these conditions placed on them. For many, being able to maintain a regular schedule was quite a challenge. Most participants to fell into one of three categories a) they were unable to predict when they would be able to work, b) they were only able to work for short periods of time, c) they felt they were only able to work during hours that did not fit in with many employers hours of operation, e.g., 9am – 5pm. Participants often felt that there were no accommodations that could be made for them. Many felt that their inability to maintain a consistent schedule meant that no employer would even consider them. Emma in discussing her ability to work said:
As is discussed in Theme Chapter 5, social isolation seriously limited participants’ interactions with others. We heard many examples where communication problems affected participants’ ability to function in a work environment. Confusion, fear, lack of knowledge of how to manage stress or conflict left those participants for whom it was an issue at a loss for how to “fit” in the workplace. Many experienced negative relationships at work and assumed that that was what all work places are like. As a consequence many did not believe they would be able to function well at work. Many participants had stories about workplaces where management did not encourage them, where they felt under attack all the time to perform faster or better and did not feel valued. Unsurprisingly this left many feeling that they were unable to do their job and caused them to question their own worth as a worker. Leanne had briefly worked at a call centre and had experienced it as a very unsupportive workplace.
Knowing what is expected of you, or providing that information in an easily understood manner to others, can be complicated. A number of participants expressed concern over and provided anecdotes about not knowing what was expected of them while at work. Others linked this problem to a lack of communication or poor communication by both employer and employee. In some cases not having a clear idea of job expectations was the reason that participants could not maintain a job. Jennifer who has Asperger Syndrome[4] felt that she lost a job because she was unable to interpret what her employer’s expectations were. Jennifer’s employer was upset about her production level, but was unclear with her about the expectations. When she was fired for not producing enough, Jennifer was left feeling frustrated and blamed herself.
After this position Jennifer had developed a fear about working and was wary of taking jobs because she felt she would be unable to understand and meet the expectations of an employer. Communicating with management can be daunting or relatively easy depending on how the relationship is set up. Jennifer had experienced problems with communication throughout her life and found that at work these difficulties were magnified. She spoke about requiring communication to be clear and direct and that matters are dealt with as they arise. Jennifer due to her Asperger Syndrome had significant difficulty reading the subtext of the interactions with her bosses. The consequence of this was that information about her performance at work was not coming across the way it was intended. This miscommunication left Jennifer feeling confused and anxious about what was she had done wrong.
Terry lacked confidence in his ability to communicate his needs at work and also had the sense that he was not valued at work. This left him feeling as though he was not equal to those around him and consequently like a child amongst adults. One of the most often-mentioned barriers to employment was insecurity. A large number of participants felt that there were no longer any secure jobs available due to the increasing use of part-time work, contract-based work and changing job requirements. These labor strategies may result in a better business model for employers but in some cases leaves employees in the lurch. Participants expressed considerable frustration at not knowing whether another job was available after a contract or term ended or having to piece together a living income through a variety of sources. A number of our participants were concerned about the financial and emotional stress job insecurity brought on.
The issue of job stability came out in our very first interview. Lynne who had a severe brain injury was resigned to the fact that permanent jobs are no longer the norm.
The lack of stability in work left many people feeling as though they were unable to plan their lives. An ever-present sense that employment income would be lost and that they would end up back on Income Assistance or Employment Insurance led many to be afraid to move forward. Stability is particularly important with many of the participants we spoke to, as their ability to be at their peak performance was often fragile. That is, they required access to regular medication, and financing for specialized items such as orthopedic shoes, and treatment to deal with the challenge and/or disability that presented barriers. Losing a job had a massive impact on their ability to continue as healthy a life as they could. The inability to plan more than a few months ahead due to being reliant on contract employment had caused more than a few participants severe anxiety and stress. Eva who was caring for an aging parent and a daughter had such a high level of stress that she began experiencing pain, sleep problems, anxiety and depression. The challenges of contract work with no benefits are difficult for many; impossible to consider for a number of the participants we spoke to, as they could lose their access to necessary healthcare treatments and services.
Living in Kings County, which has a long agricultural history, means that seasonal work options such as apple or berry picking are widely available. However, we heard from local employment services workers and employers that these positions often go begging because the local population is not interested in these types of jobs. Approximately half of our participants (42%) agreed with this; in many cases because they were physically unable to do the work. A number were willing to pick berries, but had a need for transportation to the fields. However there was a sense from some that these types of jobs did not move the person forward. Terry who has a number of debilitating ailments had tried picking on several occasions felt that it had not gotten him any closer to a full-time job and had caused him a significant amount of pain. He expressed this succinctly:
The sense that agricultural work does not lead to job security nor does it provide experience or references to move into another line of work meant that while it may have alleviated the financial stress for some individuals it did not move them any further toward their goal of career-oriented work.
Several participants expressed concern over changing job requirements. Jobs they had previously held were no longer available to them due to changing requirements for education or skills.
Fred also felt that changing job requirements meant that he constantly had to get new skills and undertake new training: but being an Income Assistance recipient meant that he did not have the ability to respond quickly or effectively to the new requirements.
Jim worked briefly at a call centre. He spoke about the constant pressure to produce more in less time and the constant reminder by management that job security was tied to constantly changing performance standards.
Jim left the job due to the stress from trying to meet constantly changing demands. Leanne also worked at the same call centre. She expressed considerable frustration about the standards set by management. Her perception was that people were set up to fail in order to ensure that they never felt positive about themselves and consequently would not seek work elsewhere.
One of the participants told us that she had worked at an entry level position for a number of years, and then took three years off to have her children. When she sent in her application to return to the same company for the same job, her friend who worked there told her it had been rejected outright because she did not have her GED. The job had not changed at all, but the owner was new and had set that as a new qualification. A need for consistency and structure came up several times with participants. Some participants felt that they were able to be effective workers if they understood where they fit in the work place and what was expected of them. Fran who has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder expressed structure as a way to manage her disorder in the work place:
Other participants who had attended post-secondary education and done well recognized that the clear instructions provided in an academic setting allowed them to work and to work well.
RESPONSE FROM EMPLOYERSWhen looking at ways to accommodate people with challenges and disabilities into the workplace there are a wide array of programs and practices already in place and being implemented throughout Kings County. While the practice may vary in approach, Job Carving is one example of a practice that is used by nearly all employment support staff. We had assumed that employers would be less open to the idea of modifying work requirements to meet the needs of individuals with challenges and disabilities, however while we cannot generalize to all Kings County employers we were surprised by the responses we received from the three local employers that we spoke with.
Their responses reflect a general acceptance of a need for flexibility in how employees can be accommodated in the workplace. Clyde in particular points to what has been suggested by numerous reports and studies with more intensive data analysis than this report, that labor shortages are looming and that the remaining population will have challenges which will need to be addressed in order to be successful at work. While these perspectives cannot be generalized to all Kings County employers it does suggest that employers are actively considering how to manage staff they do have in a manner that yields the best results. While the Discouraged Job Seekers we spoke to had the sense that employers were rigid, the employers we spoke to were open to flexibility. What we heard from employment support staff was that the barriers that many of the Discouraged Job Seekers experienced, specifically those related to time, stress, job carving, structure and communication, were at the forefront of their work with employers. In some instances this was through supported employment. In others it was through informal check-ins on a semi-regular basis. Some staff suggested that many people who needed their supports only required the knowledge that someone was thinking of them or simply someone to trouble shoot the day-to-day problems. However they were not in a position to intervene in issues that are possible factors that contribute to a person becoming a Discouraged Job Seeker: job security, changing job requirements and the lack of opportunity to move beyond entry level positions. While these factors contribute to a Discouraged Job Seekers attitude, they are inherent in the nature of many jobs, such as contract work or farm labor. Others were subject to economic changes and were beyond the capacity of most people to foresee or address. Employment Support Staff did, however, point to the importance of providing employers the opportunity to meet, speak with and, if possible, see potential workers in action.
In discussion with our participants we often asked them how they would deal with the barriers they presented. We asked them what they would like to see changed in the workplace so that they would feel more certain about being successful once a job is secured. The majority of responses covered these areas:
The underlying notion behind these suggestions is that communication about the job, within the job, and to support people outside the workplace is necessary for Discouraged Job Seekers. Having a resource that Discouraged Job Seekers can access regularly to help deal with the multiple stumbling blocks that present themselves in and around work is needed. Some would require this in the workplace but the majority we spoke with just need a point of reference or as Monica put it an “anchor” in the work world. While physical limitations were identified by most participants they rarely discussed them during the interview process even when prompted. Most felt that their inability to find work was related to being unable to fulfill an entire job description or that the social and operational components of the job were too stressful. From our perspective, and that of the employment services staff we spoke to small changes could overcome many of the operational barriers we heard. Examples of these barriers were an inability to guarantee availability to regular work due to an illness, a lack of structure, and changing work requirements, such as educational requirements. The social and stress barriers were seen as much more difficult to address. Jobs where working with the public, maintaining constant productivity, being unable to communicate clearly, or take in information, were major stressors for many participants. Many participants had built up fears around work due to these stressors and where apprehensive about re-entering the workforce despite it being, in most cases, a necessity. In sum, if the Discouraged Job Seekers we spoke to are going to re-enter the workforce in a meaningful way they will require a number of accommodations in regards to job properties. For the large part they need a person to act on their behalf, to help negotiate, and then navigate re-entry. [1]Please see: http://www.waterlooregion.org/spc/trends/disabilities/design.html or http://www.ncsu.edu/www/ncsu/design/sod5/cud/ for information on Universal Design Principles Back to Table of Contents |
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© Pathways to Work Research Project.
Banner photo by Linda Davidson, Side photo by HIRATA Yasuyuki
Banner photo by Linda Davidson, Side photo by HIRATA Yasuyuki
The Pathways to Work Research Project is funded under the Canada-Nova Scotia Labour Market Agreement. 