Is part-time work a good or bad opportunity for people with disabilities? A European analysis.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to analyse the incidence of part-time employment among people with disabilities within a European context. Particular attention is paid to the type of part-time employment (voluntary vs. involuntary) and the levels of job satisfaction that people with disabilities report.


METHODS
Using data from the European Community Household Panel for the period 1995-2001, we estimate part-time rates, preferences and levels of job satisfaction for people with and without disabilities for 13 European countries.


RESULTS
The results show that a higher number of people with disabilities work part-time, compared to non-disabled workers. This is mainly due to disabled part-time workers having a much higher preference for part-time working than people without disability. This finding is corroborated when we analyse the levels of job satisfaction for disabled part-time workers.


CONCLUSIONS
Part-time employment becomes a relevant instrument for policy makers and employers to improve the social inclusion, income and labour conditions of the people with disabilities because it allows these people to achieve a much better balance between their personal and health needs and working life.
Pagán
Ricardo
R
Departamento de Economía Aplicada (Estructura Económica), University of Malaga, Spain. rpr@uma.es
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004651:Employment; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires